Four Deadly Secrets
by OneirosTheWriter
Summary: An AU in a Remnant that expands and extrapolates off of the Remnant of the series, going beyond the glossy cover. A dangerous and experienced Team RWBY make their way in this more world. Character-driven, this story focuses on exploring the characters by extrapolating their traits and attributes from the show. Action, romance, drama and plenty of intrigue. No grim-derp or OOC!
1. An Incipient Crisis

**A/N: A big thank you to my proof-reader, Leviticus Wilkes.**

**Update 28/9/14 - My wife has kindly gone through and made a host of fixes and improvements throughout the fic, so I've re-uploaded all the chapters.**

Out above the forest of Forever Fall were two girls. One was younger, with dark hair, wearing a black dress with red highlights, all of five-two with a boundless supply of energy. Her name was Ruby Rose, and she clutched a heavy scythe across her body, holding on for dear life. The other girl was a little older, but not much the larger, with features like an ice princess, all icy blue, cold and serene. Her outsized rapier was clutched firmly in her hand. She was Weiss Schnee, heiress and student. Together, they were partners, and half of Team RWBY of Beacon Academy. They were also in mid-air, high above the ground, and falling at a rate of knots.

"You know what surprised me the most about life at Beacon?" asked Ruby Rose, yelling to be heard over the whistling of the winds.

"I'm sure I couldn't even begin to guess," said Weiss with a sigh as her combat skirt rippled with the speed of their descent towards the ground.

"The flying," answered the dark-haired girl moments before she summoned up her aura and unleashed a rapid salvo of cross rounds.

Black smoke bloomed from the head of the heavy scythe, Crescent Rose, as it went through several Dust-filled rifle shells. Recoil brought her up to a bewildering pace as she fell through the sky. When the terminal moment arrived, she spun about with exquisite timing to drive the scythe's head down into her target with catastrophic power. Normally all but immune to physical harm, the carapace of the Deathstalker beneath her shredded like paper as the weapon ploughed in point first. One last shot fired in the scythe's rifle barrel as Ruby's feet landed on the weapon haft propelled her to the left and dragged the weapon free. Just in time for Weiss to land a split second after her, Myrtenaster loaded with red dust and brimming with power. The Schnee heiress landed right above the scythe's wound tract and drove her weapon into the deep channel. Dust syphoned out of the weapon to send a torrent of flame surging into the wound. The great Grimm was flash-fried from the inside out. Momentum caused Weiss to skid along the slick carapace as the flames erupted from every opening around her. She quickly summoned glyphs with her semblance, which she leapt upon to escape the danger.

Ruby somersaulted through the air, and then disappeared in a sudden wash of petals that spread across the sky. Weiss made her way gracefully back to the ground, stepping from one glyph to another, dusting off her cuffs. Behind her, the Deathstalker's legs slid out from underneath it and it fell with a rumbling crash, dead before it hit the ground.

"The flying?" queried Weiss in surprise of the empty air, as she looked around for her partner. "You mean the airships?"

"What? No, I mean the flying," explained Ruby as she collapsed her weapon. "This is like the second time just this week we've had serious, serious air time." They both looked up at the young Nevermore that they had hijacked to take them aloft, which was now tumbling slowly to the ground, leaking blood and feathers as it went. "I mean, I'm thinking about changing our name from Team RWBY to RWBY Airlines," she added under her breath.

"Ruby, that's not flying. That's falling and we're supposed to avoid it," corrected Weiss with hands on hips. They stood in a wide clearing in the depths of the Forever Fall, catching their breath after their exertions. The red leaves drifted on the air, borne aloft by strong breezes. Piles of the leaves lined the ground, burying everything in its red hue. Weiss' eyes narrowed as she looked at her partner, who was beginning to tremble with suppressed excitement. "Just let it out, Ruby," she finally said with a sigh.

"That was so cool!" squealed the younger girl. "We came out of the sky, and my sweetheart opened that Grimm up like a tin can and there was teamwork and oh I wish someone had been here to see it!" It all came out in an uncontrolled rush of excitement, with Ruby's arms swinging demonstratively at each step.

Weiss sighed again. "Honestly, you could be fifty-five, Ruby, and I bet you would still be just as childish." She shook her head at her younger partner. It still boggled her mind that Ruby referred to her weapon as 'sweetheart'.

Before Ruby could state the case for the defence, an interruption got their attention. "Hey!" called a voice from the tree line of the forest. "Ruby, Weiss! Where are you guys!?"

The two girls looked to the source of the noise and spotted Yang and Blake break into the meadow, clearly suffering from the hard running she had done to reach them. "Over here, Yang!" yelled Ruby, who waved her arms at the new arrivals. When she saw Yang and Blake change direction towards them, she turned to Weiss and asked, "Do you think they'll be mad?"

Weiss gave her team leader a very sharp look. "What, for the fact that upon spotting that Deathstalker from the hilltop, you grabbed me, hooked us onto an undersized Nevermore, forced the thing to fly us over the meadow, killed the Nevermore, launched us into free-fall and then landed directly on top of a monstrously powerful Grimm without any backup?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. About that. Do you think they'll be mad?"

The Schnee heiress stared at the girl for several seconds. "Grimm and Dust," she muttered under her breath. When Ruby cocked her head, she extended an arm towards the blonde tempest, who was burning through dust shells to chew up the distance between herself and her sister. Blake was racing through the leaves in her partner's wake. "Ask them yourself."

Yang bellowed as she ceased her firing and skidded along the leafy meadow for the last several meters, "Ruby Rose, don't you ever bail on us like that again!" Ruby yelped and ducked behind Weiss. "Do you have any idea how far we've had to run? It was absurd!"

The older blonde girl, who doubled as Ruby's overprotective big sister, stalked in like a volcano. She a brawler by nature, tall, long-limbed, strong as an ox and with curves even meaner than her temperament was when her sister was endangered. Her golden gauntlets had been collapsed into heavy bracelets. Ember Celica, as the gauntlet weapons were known, was wickedly dangerous; there were few people in all of Beacon who could exploit even a tiny lapse in someone's guard so to destroy an aura so swiftly.

"I'm sorry, Yang!" placated Ruby from her spot behind Weiss, who was twisting about trying to shoo the girl away. "But there was a Deathstalker and I knew we had to get it first and that Nevermore was handy, and I just thought, hey, seize the day and all and you should have seen how we took out the Deathstalker it was so cool and please stop yelling at me..."

"Took out...?" Yang looked past Ruby's shoulder to the cooked remains of the great Grimm and blinked in shock. "Oh my god, you actually did it."

Behind her Blake arrived, slowing to a walk over the last few feet. "I can't believe that worked," commented the dark haired girl with an amused expression. "I was sure we were going to see a repeat of that initiation mission."

"What, the one with the yelling and the screaming and the being chased by that thing's bigger uglier cousin?" asked Ruby. Both Yang and Blake nodded with feeling. "Oh, come on, guys," said Ruby with puppy dog eyes. "We were perfectly safe. The aim is to get a Deathstalker's stinger and now all we have to do is knock it loose and head home."

Yang folded her arms under her chest and fixed her little sister with a fierce look. "Look, all I'm saying is that if you pull a stunt like that again I am going to tape you to a chair and you can lead the team sitting down." She threw her hands up in despair and added, "This is only a training mission! You don't need to be risking life and limb like that, sis."

Weiss coughed strategically. "Well, in Ruby's defence, thanks to the angle of attack and the momentum of our descent, that may have been the safest option. After all," she said with a long, delicate finger raised, "The Deathstalker never laid eyes on us and didn't manage so much as a single attack. And we had to fight one eventually to get the stinger."

The golden-haired brawler took a step up to Weiss and placed her hands on the slighter girl's shoulders. "Weiss, I appreciate you sticking up for my little sister, but please don't encourage her to make insane aerial assaults on deadly creatures with half of her team nearly on the other side of the forest. It's going to get her killed, and then me and you would have to have a big long talk." The heiress blushed and looked away.

"Yang...," groaned Ruby in frustration. "When are you going to stop embarrassing me?" Yang just laughed at the idea that she would ever stop embarrassing her little sister. She was not just entitled to continue that forever, she was practically duty-bound. Age had nothing to do with it, it was principle now.

The discussion between the four girls was interrupted by a new arrival. "Are you girls okay?" said a girl with a friendly drawl. "We saw you fall from the sky on top of that thing.

"Oh, hey Velvet!" greeted Yang as they beheld the faunus girl, clad in field gear of an armoured tunic and tights. "Where's the rest of your team?" she added, glancing over Velvet's shoulder.

"Oh, they're still off in the forest," replied Velvet. "They just sent me to see if everything was alright. After all, my teammates and you guys...," she trailed off and scratched behind the base of her rabbit-like ears a little self-consciously. "Well, it wasn't a great start to the morning, was it?"

All four members of Team RWBY had a moment's blush.

* * *

><p>Earlier that morning, teams Ruby and Juniper had shuffled into a lecture theatre for a mission briefing with Glynda Goodwitch. Relations were good between the two teams and they tended to socialise together, something made easy by the proximity of their dorms. Having come in as part of the same induction group helped as well; the joint battles with the Nevermore and Deathstalkers had created a common bond between the two teams. But the third team that had come in with their induction team, Cardin's Team CRDL, was nowhere to be seen. This suited everyone else just fine, of course, as Cardin's team had remarkably few redeeming features to their name.<p>

"Two team excursion, you think?" asked Blake of Yang as they looked around.

"I guess so," replied Yang as she ran a hand through her hair. "Say what you will about that asshole Cardin, he tends to be on time."

Red-headed Pyrrha Nikos, armed, armoured and resplendent like a living memory of the glories of the classical age, strode over to Ruby's team. There was a maturity about the young woman that commanded respect and attention, and the members of Team RWBY all looked her way as she approached. "Any news, guys?" she asked.

"No, haven't heard a thing," answered Blake. "You guys heard anything about today's mission?"

Pyrrha glanced back at one of her team mates, a young man clad in green who was as smooth an operator as the academy had seen. Leaner than the more sturdily built team leader, Jaune, he was limber, elegant and mysterious. "Lie Ren heard that we would be hunting Deathstalkers. Something about collecting pieces for an anatomy class."

"Because our last encounter with Deathstalkers wasn't nearly enough fun," commented Yang with a dismayed groan.

The armour-clad young woman laughed good-naturedly as she turned to head back to her team. "What's the point of being a Huntress if you aren't going to take on the tough stuff?"

"She has a point, you know," suggested Blake after Pyrrha moved away. "It may be safer going toe to toe with undersized boarbatusks," she said with a sly glance at the Schnee heiress, "But that's not what people really need protection from."

After that exchange, Ruby led her team up their normal seats in the second row, whilst the Juniper students kept to the ground level, near the door. Shortly after they settled in, the door opened and Velvet Scarletina poked her head in. The faunus girl looked about with a harried expression. When she saw fellow students in the room, however, she quickly brightened. "Hey you guys. Is this Miss Goodwitch's class?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, that's us," answered Pyrrha.

"Ah, cheers," thanked Velvet with a wink, before she turned back to the hallway. "Yeah, it's this one, guys!" She waited for a moment, and then walked into the room with three other girls, all three with friendly smiles on their faces. Two of the girls were twins, sporting jet black hair and eyes green like spring. They didn't have Yang's height or the heartbreaker curves that she sported, but they were still sweetly shaped and taller than Weiss or Blake. On each girl a strapless dress with high flared skirts hugged their forms. One dress was red, the other was white, and both incorporated leather and metal plating into the design in as aesthetically a pleasing manner as could be managed. The fact the dress left no armour over shoulders or collars didn't matter much; nine-tenths of defence for those with strong auras had nothing to do with any physical presence. By and large, when you reached the point where your aura could no longer absorb the blows, no amount of armour plating was going to save your bacon.

The fourth girl had the look of a tomboy. She had a long yellow coat, but she wore it as if it was a cape, tied around the collar, arms hanging unused. Under this she wore a mid-riff baring tank and a pair of three-quarter length pants. Cradled in her arm was a cudgel with a solid club-end. Ruby noticed she had a series of ammunition strips along her belt, so she assumed the cudgel could make use of them. When she took a look at the shells that were visible, they looked like carbine rounds. As far as Ruby could tell, none of the other girls carried shells, although Velvet appeared to have Dust canisters. This was a little unusual, although not all students had complex weapon systems. Jaune Arc and Cardin Winchester had good old-fashioned, uncomplicated steel, yet still managed to contribute. When the two twins took a step forward, both Pyrrha and Nora surreptitiously slid in closer to their male partners. It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Yang, Weiss or Blake, who all exchanged amused glances, much to Ruby's confusion.

As Jaune's team was closer, the new girls made that team their first stop, giving Ruby's team a moment to observe from afar. Ruby was pleased, looking forward to meeting new weapons, if rather less interested in meeting those who wielded the weapons. "Look, Weiss," she whispered, "Combat Skirts are taking over."

Weiss gave her a broad grin before turning back to the new arrivals. A thoughtful look was on her face as she considered them. "You know, it's strange," she said. "I swear that the girl without the weapons, in the white dress, is familiar. I know her from somewhere, but I just can't pick where."

"What do you mean the one without the weapons? All of them are armed," corrected Ruby idly. With her nigh-unhealthy interest in weapons of all shapes, sizes and descriptions, it was a very rare occasion for even truly subtle weapons to pass her attention. "The one in white has blades built in to her heels."

Weiss sat up straight. "Oh, I do know her. Heel blades, that makes so much sense. Us girls never could figure out why she never seemed to change shoes..." Ruby threw a quizzical look at her partner. "She used to show up at galas, balls, all the right nightclubs, but only ever on the arm of a boy, whom she always left with," elaborated Weiss. She laughed, and added, "Clears up what she was doing there."

Further along the desk, Yang could recognise all three of the new girls, although she did not have names to put to any of their faces. The two twins had been the heavy hitters of the bodyguard team for an information broker named Junior. They had put up a stiff fight as Yang rampaged through Junior's establishment, breaking bones and hearts. But even outnumbered, Yang's fists, combined with her Ember Celica shotgun gauntlets, had won out comfortably. And as for the third girl, it had been an encounter earlier that day, one she didn't intend to talk about if the girl herself didn't.

"Fair warning of past history," whispered Yang to Blake. "I beat the stuffing out of both of the twins a couple months back. They may still be sour about it. So I'm really not sure how this is going to turn out."

Blake frowned and nodded. "Right. Well, I guess I'll try to stay ready if anything starts. You'll have to tell me the story later."

Yang laughed from behind her hand. "One of the best fights I've ever had, next time we go get dinner I'll spill."

Back along the desk, Ruby had made a decision. "Well, I don't recognise any of them apart from Velvet, so I guess I'll go introduce us. As team leader, of course," said Ruby as she slid her chair back. Weiss was about to agree, when Ruby smirked ever so slightly and decided to mess around a little. Her semblance kicked in and she disappeared in a cloud of petals.

Weiss sighed and rested her chin in her hand. "Show-off!" But after a moment she had to give up and smile wryly.

Ruby coalesced in the midst of the other two teams, next to Velvet. All four members of the newcomer team stepped back in shock at the seemingly instantaneous appearance. "Hi, I'm Ruby!" announced the red-caped girl chirpily. Her smile practically illuminated the room.

The girl in the white dress recovered first and came forward to meet Ruby, making sure to smile, while trying to keep her natural smugness out of her expression, and generally attempt to put her best foot forward. "It's nice to meet you," said the girl smoothly. "I'm the team leader, Melanie; this is my sister Miltiades-"

"You can call me Miltia," threw in the girl in red in a friendly, upfront manner.

"I think you've already met," continued Melanie without skipping a beat, "But this is Velvet, and our tomboy friend here is named Aurea." Her voice, like that of her sister, had a peculiar flat tone, which seemed almost oblivious or vapid. Of course, the two twins were anything but vapid, and one look into their keen eyes would settle any debate on that front. It was, in its way, a dangerous piece of camouflage. "Ozpin called us Team Maven, MAVM."

"Nice to meet you all," reciprocated Ruby in as friendly a fashion as she could. All groups could always do with more friends, and connections, after all, and as a leader she knew it was important to put that front foot forward. Of course, it was often difficult to stay on top of such things when you had her teammates.

"Ah!" gasped Weiss. "Of course, Melanie… Melanie Malachite, isn't it?" she asked.

Melanie, the more confident, arrogant and aggressive of the two Malachite twins, looked up at the bench containing the other three Team RWBY members. When she recognised two of the trio, her eyes went wide and she swore violently under her breath. Velvet blushed as she heard even those faint words. Blake likewise heard them, but studiously froze her features so as not to betray her sensitive hearing.

"Melanie," said Miltiades quietly, turning her head towards her sister. "Who is that girl?"

This got an indirect response, as Melanie spoke with her attention squarely on the heiress. "I think that's Weiss Schnee." Miltia's posture went ramrod straight, knowing the name if not the face it went with.

"Of course," replied Weiss with no shortage of hauteur. "I remember you, you know, although I don't think we ever talked." She rose to her feet and began to descend the stairs.

Melanie sighed inwardly. "We never needed to talk. I wasn't being hired to talk, you probably guessed," she said a little more sharply than intended. Melanie felt the need to assert herself, confronted as she was by a 'social better' who in her opinion was no better than herself at all, spurred on by a mix of injured self-esteem and frustration. "Not many of the girls there seemed particularly worth the time to talk to, either, you know. All of them seemed to belong to the champagne, party drugs and cocktails set."

Weiss brushed off the second half of the comment and replied to the first. "Yes, we all guessed you were there on some sort of assignment when you showed up on a different arm every week," agreed Weiss a little snottily, falling into the sort of bad habits of the high society scene even as she tried to stop herself. Ruby frowned back up at her, not appreciating the way her upbeat introduction was being hijacked by animosity.

Miltia took an aggressive step forward until Melanie put a restraining hand on her arm. Neither twin would listen to imprecations against the other if they could stop it. "Yes, I heard the whispers," said Melanie softly. "I was just a discreet bodyguard, that's all." Her eyes flicked to the side as a new figure entered the fray.

"Hey girls," said Yang with a goofy grin and a smug tone as she walked down to join the quartet. "I'm Yang."

"Yeah, we know," said Melanie with a stormy look in her eyes. "We're looking forward to those sparring sessions."

"Hey hussy, I'm Aurea," said the fourth new girl to Yang with a terrifically fake, unfriendly smile plastered on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Aurea; if you ever call me that again I'm going to break your legs," replied Yang in that same faux-friendly tone. Aurea's jaw clenched nervously at the unyielding reply. She did not like Yang one bit, but she had a healthy appreciation for how dangerous she could be, and didn't want to push her luck yet.

Jaune actually blinked and exchanged glances with Pyrrha before stepping foolhardily into the fray. "Whoa, ladies, no need for that…" The return glares he got would have melted steel, but Jaune withstood it. He was taking his leadership responsibilities more seriously with every day that passed, and it was doing wonders for his confidence and self-esteem. "Okay, clearly there's history here. I'm not the most observant guy, so it must be pretty obvious to everyone else if I can see it." He hesitated and glanced at his team mates, all of whom urged him on with nods and stealthy gestures.

Velvet moved over behind the Malachite sisters and put calming hands on their shoulders. "Hey, Yang and Weiss are good people," she argued, thankfully not noticing the surprised look Weiss shot her. "Let's try to get along, alright?"

"Yeah, like Velvet says," agreed Jaune. "We're about to go out on a training mission; if things go haywire, like at the ruins, are you sure you want the person who has your back to be someone you were swapping insults with back in class?" He leaned in closer. "Just think about it."

Ruby sidled up to her sister and gave her a quiet bump with her shoulder. "Hey," she whispered, "Try not to make me look bad when I'm meeting other team leaders would you?"

The somewhat self-centred nature of the comments broke through Yang's confrontational attitude. Yang took a step back and laughed good-naturedly at Ruby. "Well, I can't have you look bad, now can I?" she asked quietly, throwing in a wink. Ruby sighed at the response, but thanked her lucky stars that at least she didn't get her hair ruffled.

"So, what's the problem with you guys?" asked Pyrrha, folding her arms and looking as stern as she could manage. It was a reasonable effort, with all of the combatants taking a subconscious half-step backwards. "High society galas for girls basically takes the art of being mean to each other and makes a competitive sport out of it, so I can guess at the problem between Weiss and Melanie. But how did you three and Yang manage to get in each other's bad books?"

Melanie and Miltia exchanged a sour glance, with the girl in white giving the girl in red a nod. Miltiades sighed and folded her arms. "We had a sweet job babysitting a nightclub, keeping an eye on the owner, putting some aura behind his guards. And then your friend here tore the club apart."

"Wow, Yang with the killer dance moves!" said Nora, giving the blonde girl a thumbs up.

"I meant that, like, literally," clarified the dark-haired twin irritably, causing a ripple of surprise through the room. Even Yang's teammates turned to give her a look. "The place was shut for a week to rebuild the whole inside of the joint." She sighed and added a little confession. "We both had to spend the night in hospital because she kicked the tar out of us."

"Yang, you were a hoodlum?" asked Pyrrha in surprise.

The blonde girl gave the Mistral girl an admonishing look. "Let's not go there."

"So we think we have the right to be upset with Yang here," argued Melanie defiantly, chin high as she looked at Pyrrha.

"Do you think so?" asked Lie Ren. "It must be aggravating, but those are the risks in the industry, aren't they?"

Melanie bit her tongue for a moment, looking at her heel blades as she tried to compose herself. "I know that," she said after several seconds. "I know that, Miltia knows that. But it's so much harder to translate that into actually feeling that way. We'll work on it, I guess."

Aurea coughed, then nodded in Blake's direction. "I don't think you got introduced," she said. "What's your name?"

"My name is Blake," introduced the other girl. "None of you happen to have a grudge against me, I hope," she added deadpan.

"Of course not," replied Velvet with a friendly smile, although she glanced at the others in her team nervously after she said it. But no one gainsaid Velvet and the others greeted her politely.

The atmosphere was still tense, and Ruby wasn't sure how to return some bonhomie to the confrontation. But when she noticed the collapsible staff that Velvet wielded, she had an idea.

"So, so, so," began Ruby excitedly. "Let's see 'em!"

"Uhh, what are we showing?" asked Miltiades hesitantly, glancing at her colleagues.

Yang laughed and gave Ruby a friendly elbow. "Ruby here is a bit of a gun nut. Always likes to meet new and interesting ways to off Grimm."

Melanie made a quarter turn and lifted her foot up behind her to show off the savage-looking blades worked into her high heels. "I just use steel; you'd think it would be hard to work with the heels, but I've been wearing them almost all my life, so I actually walk easier in heels than barefoot now," she said matter-of-factly. "Of course, it's tricky to use against Grimm, so I actually have a new weapon on order that suits a little more." The girl gave a smile to her fellow team leader. "When I get it, I'll make sure to show you."

"I'm looking forward to it," answered Ruby

The other three girls showed off their weapons; the retractable claws that Miltiades could call on, Velvet's staff that expanded to a solid two metres in length and marked with small dust canisters around a thickened end, as well as the shell-augmented cudgel that Aurea could call on. When they had all shown off their weapons, Ruby wore a big cheesy grin.

"Let me introduce you to my sweetheart: Crescent Rose," she announced proudly.

The scythe burst out from its heavily compacted holding shape and twisted it about in her hands so it landed with the blade resting along the ground, her left arm along the weapon haft. All of the Team Maven girls bar Miltiades jumped at the intimidating weapon. Miltia's eyes went particularly wide as she examined the High Calibre Sniper Scythe, and then she looked at Ruby as if for the first time, taking a step towards her.

Ruby gave the weapon another spin, letting the heavy head of the weapon come up to rest against her shoulder. Miltiades reached up and ran her hand along the crimson metal casing.

"This is also a rifle," observed the young woman after a moment's inspection, her tone making clear it was a statement directed at her comrades.

"Yeah, how'd you guess?" asked Ruby in surprise. The other girl just gave her a small smile and said nothing. Ruby watched the girl inspect Crescent Rose. "What do you think?" she asked after a moment's silence.

"It's really something," replied Miltia earnestly. "You make it look so light when you move it," she praised, as Ruby's wiry figure didn't show well through the dress. "You're quite the surprise. By the way, did you ever spend much time north of Vale City?" she asked. Yang saw the cool look in Miltia's eyes and frowned, feeling that this was again more statement than question. What was she getting at, wondered the protective older sister.

Ruby grinned at the praise. "I did a lot of my private scythe training with Uncle Qrow out in those woods out of school term," answered Ruby. "Did you see me out there?" Behind her, Weiss made her way down and joined them, taking a position at her partner's side.

"Yeah, I saw you a couple times," answered Miltiades in a quiet drawl, watching the other girl out of the corner of her eye as she followed the outline of the scythe's core mechanisms. "Your scythe is terrifying when it's going full speed. But I never got to go say hi to you. Business, you know."

Ruby hesitated for a moment and then replied, "Well, I'd say not, I don't think I'd have forgotten either of you two. You're pretty distinctive!" She added sotto voce, "What with the twins thing and all." She nodded towards the weapon. "It's not as hard to use as you'd think, you just have to be good with leverage, you know? All in how you grip, where you hold, using your body as a fulcrum, and knowing when to use the rifle shot for killing power."

Before anyone could reply, the door opened once more as one Glynda Goodwitch arrived at the lecture theatre and walked inside. The girls and boys all straightened up into their groups.

"Ah, good, you're all here," remarked Glynda brightly. "Welcome to my class, Team Maven. I hope giving you some missions alongside these two teams will help you thrive. Teams Ruby, Juniper, we've switched Team Cardinal with another initiation group to shake things up, see what teams can interact the best." She looked around and did a headcount, and smiled as she reached twelve. "You've all introduced yourselves? Good, I can dispense with that formality."

Glynda proceeded to brief the assembled students on a mission out to the Forever Falls, where they would each collect a Deathstalker stinger for use in an upcoming dissection class. No one was happy with the assignment, especially Ruby and Jaune's teams, as they had considerable bad memories regarding the Grimm they encountered at their initiation. After that, Glynda left first, giving everyone twenty minutes to report to the departure area, and left the students behind.

The three teams each quickly discussed their strategies for the upcoming exercise before they began to head off.

As the teams filed out of the door, Melanie slid up next to Yang and took hold of the larger girl's arm. While Yang blinked in surprise at the contact, the Malachite girl leaned in and whispered something harsh and quick from behind a muffling hand. For a split second Yang went white as snow, and then her eyes went red and she gave Melanie an almighty shove, which launched her into the door frame.

The dark-haired girl hit the frame at speed and knocked the air out of her in a great 'whooof'. She staggered aside and fell to a knee, propped up on a hand. When the stars cleared and she finally looked up again, Miltia and Yang were both being restrained by their comrades as best as could be managed.

"Miltia, leave it," wheezed Melanie. "I had it coming, leave it."

"What is wrong with you guys?" asked Pyrrha loudly, profound frustration coming across clearly in her voice, and she took in both parties in her stern gaze.

Yang took a step back as Miltiades relaxed, causing Ruby to sigh with relief. The brawler turned and tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. Growling in frustration she shook her head and walked away. Ruby and Weiss followed in her wake, but Blake stood where she was, eyeing Melanie speculatively.

As the others helped Melanie back to her feet, Ren approached Blake and whispered discretely, "What was all that about?"

"I don't know," whispered Blake in reply.

Lie Ren frowned at her, sensing that this wasn't the whole truth. "You're holding out on me. There's a history there. You seem to be the only person on your team that they don't have a history with of some sort." Blake looked at the young man with a sharp gaze, saying nothing. Ren forced down a sigh and continued. "Beacon should be a fresh beginning. Look, Juniper is more than happy to mediate if there's a problem. We like these guys a lot more than we liked Cardin's people and we'd like to not run them off, so please, think over the offer."

"I appreciate the thought," replied Blake neutrally. "I'll bring it up with Ruby." After that, she began to walk away, trying not to feel the burning sensation of the other two teams watching her back as she walked away.

Blake had lied when she denied knowing what the scuffle had been about. The faunus girl had been close enough to her partner to hear the muffled whisper that Melanie had meant for her ears alone. And the provocative accusation she had heard sat uneasily inside, like a cold lump in her gut.

"You killed one of Junior's henchmen in that club, you little murderer," she had heard the young woman accuse.

* * *

><p>"Yeah... I suppose the morning was a bit tense," admitted Yang awkwardly as she ran a hand through her hair. "But both Ruby and Weiss are fine, they landed on top of the Deathstalker and took it out."<p>

"There's good Schnee Dust in Myrtenaster, burnt the thing to a crisp," boasted Weiss proudly.

Velvet made a nervous sounding laugh as she regarded the Schnee heiress. "Y-Yeah, I bet." The underhanded acts of the SDC were well known among the faunus population of Vale, but it would be a stupid faunus who thought to bring such things up to the company heiress herself.

"You guys aren't really equipped so well for going after Deathstalkers," noted Ruby. "Perhaps after we get that stinger squared away, we can help you out in bringing one down of your own?"

Velvet gave them a look of genuine surprise, taken aback by the gesture. "You would have done that for us?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course we-," began Ruby before being cut-off.

"Why did you just speak in past tense?" asked Blake suspiciously.

The faunus girl twitched uncomfortably. "Oh, uh, ah, well ... that is ... bye!" said Velvet before turning and running full-pelt for the tree line.

A loud crack and a thump from behind them caught their attention. They all turned around to look at the Deathstalker carcass they had left behind them. The stinger had been cut from the tail and even as they watched, Aurea and Miltia were carrying it from either end as Melanie escorted them. All three were running hell for leather for the forest edge.

"Th-they're...," stammered Yang in disbelief as she pointed at the trio.

"I really should have seen that coming," complained Blake as she folded her arms.

"That treacherous little ... oooh!" hissed Weiss in outrage.

Ruby allowed herself a little sigh before she picked a course of action. "Alright, Weiss, you're my partner, you're on me. Sis, you've beaten them all before so you're with us as well. Blake, keep Velvet occupied! I don't want a Dust mage getting the drop on us as we go play with those three."

"Sure thing," said Blake, not particularly happy with having to play hunt the faunus, but accepting the rationale well enough. She turned and raced off through the carpet of fallen leaves to screen the group from Velvet.

"So!" said Yang as she lifted her forearms. Ember Celica expanded down each arm with a whirr and clamour, and finally a sound of the inbuilt shotguns' actions loading a shell apiece. "Ready to reclaim our prize?"

"No treacherous little faunus, or her slimy friends, are going to get the better of a Schnee," hissed Weiss acidly. She drew Myrtenaster and a red glow burned across its length. "Particularly not by a girl whom the whole Vale City social set had pegged as a pricey Escort."

Yang turned to Weiss. "I thought she said she was only a bodyguard."

As they argued, Crescent Rose bloomed out into its full and terrifying visage. Ruby allowed its point to slam down into the ground, anchoring the rifle neatly. She settled into place to work the rifle component with practiced ease.

Weiss frowned. "Yes, well, society boys may lie like the White Fang about their bedroom endeavours... Argh, look, I don't know! I say things I don't always mean when I'm angry, and right now I'm just furious!" She turned to Ruby. "Are we going after them or what!?"

"Hang on," said Ruby as she flipped out her rifle's scope and switched from a cross clip to her regular rifle rounds. "I'm going to stop them carrying the stinger first."

Yang nodded. "Good plan, it lets them know they'll have to win it fair and square, or run for cover. Okay, Weiss, once she shoots the stinger, we go. Ruby can catch up."

"Works for me," said Weiss.

"What do you mean shoot the stinger?" asked Ruby in genuine confusion as she looked down the scope intently. With the four times zoom of the scope enabled, Ruby saw the two carrying the stinger clearly, Aurea was leading with Miltiades behind her. With consummate skill, she tweaked the rifle's shaft over ever so slightly, and her crosshairs settled squarely between the exposed shoulder-blades of the red-clad Malachite twin.

"Uh, what else would you be-," started Yang with an alarmed expression.

The rifle's retort was sharp, loud and unmistakable. Its noise rolled clearly across the meadow. Down-range there was a flash of burgundy aura as Miltiades was picked up and thrown across the leafy meadow.


	2. Coup de Main

Nora laughed uproariously as the Maven girls ran with the stolen stinger, scurrying as fast as they could. To her it was a brilliant piece of work, a practical joke for the ages. Jaune thought it was a bit of poor play, but didn't think much of it. But both Lie Ren and Pyrrha knew the serious danger to the relationships of the teams that could result.

"We'd have helped them bring one down," complained the red-haired warrior as she leaned on her weapon, Miló. "We even told them as much. Hell, Ruby would have helped them too."

The four members of Juniper were on the far-side of the meadow, having doubled back when they heard the noises of battle from the initial hit on the Deathstalker. When they had arrived, they had seen the MAVM girls sneaking about and decided to see what would happen. Jaune was starting to wonder if they should have intervened.

"Well that didn't work," noticed Lie Ren. "Team RWBY has seen them."

"So, Blake is going after Velvet," noted Jaune, before he laughed to himself. "What ... silly Ruby, she's got her weapon stuck in the ground, that's not going to help!" His three team members each looked at him in concern.

"Uhh, Jaune," began Nora, beginning to fiddle nervously at her hammer.

"That's not...," said Ren hesitantly.

"Jaune, that's what Ruby does to anchor her weapon for rifle-work, haven't you noticed?" asked Pyrrha in frustration.

"Ohhh," drew out Jaune as understanding dawned. "Uh, so, a warning shot?" he suggested.

The distant bark of the rifle shot rolled over them. Across the meadow, Miltiades was picked up and hurled across the carpeted ground as if swatted by a great invisible fist. All four members of Juniper recoiled in shock. Jaune in particular went white as a sheet.

"Nope," said Nora Valkyrie succinctly. "Not a warning shot."

"Son of a bit-," began Pyrrha before she caught herself and slapped a hand over her traitorous mouth. She glanced left and right, but her teammates were more focused on the footrace now underway. "I mean, what are they doing!?"

"Looks like it's time for an … _intervention_!" suggested Nora grandly, switching Magnhild's form from a hammer into its grenade launching mode.

"Works for me," agreed Ren.

Pyrrha put a hand on her Arc's shoulder. "Let's go, Jaune," she said earnestly.

"Y-Yeah," agreed Jaune. He sheathed his sword and expanded the shield. "Team Juniper, let's go!"

* * *

><p>Much further away from the action, Ozpin and Glynda watched the unfolding events from their scroll. The shot rang out and a considerable chunk of green disappeared from the bar underneath Miltiades' name. Both staff members exchanged a deeply surprised glance. The escalation to violence had been unexpected and sudden.<p>

"If I were to take a rough guess," began Ozpin in an even-tempered tone, "Not one in twenty of our students would have chosen to put the first shot straight on target. Assuming that wasn't actually a miss."

"Not one in forty," corrected Glynda with a frown. "We'll have to keep a close eye on her. I'm not sure she was ready for these stresses."

"Within reason," answered Professor Ozpin. "After all, Beacon is not a debating society. We expect violence to come easily to our students, do we not?" Glynda gave him a flat and altogether unimpressed look, so he shrugged and waved at the forest. "You better get down there though. A firm hand may be required to keep this from going too far."

xxxx

Before Ruby could fire a second round, the leaf-strewn meadow in front of them erupted into a tempest that blew up an obscuring screen of plant-matter. With the visibility through the storm heavily reduced, it served as a good make-shift smoke grenade. Ruby glanced over her shoulder at Velvet. The faunus girl was rather heroically attempting to hold off Blake as she tried to maintain the spell that shielded her team-mates from Crescent Rose's lethal rifle fire. It was no mean feat as Blake's Gambol Shroud was flying every which way around the rabbit-girl. Ruby had to concede the point, however; Velvet would keep the screen going for a while. Clearly the scythe would have to finish its work from close-in.

"Alright, guess it's time to dance!" called out Ruby as she lifted up her vast weapon. She switched back to the cross clips with practised speed, and began to rush forwards into the heart of the storm.

"Dolt! You didn't think a warning shot might be appropriate!?"yelled Weiss over her shoulder just before she entered the tempest. Of course, she didn't mind going into battle here. A chance to rough up Melanie Malachite sounded very good to her, after all. It apparently appealed to Melanie as well, as she could see the girl racing to confront her as fast as those heels could carry her. In a moment she was past the obstruction and Myrtenaster was in her hand, burning a fiery red.

Yang found herself with Aurea across from her, ready to offer battle. Her cudgel was in its carbine form, and Yang knew she would have to throw off Aurea's aim if she wanted to avoid a truly awful commute to work. Yang leapt into the air just past the end of the tempest and fired off a half-dozen rounds to get some serious elevation, and then launched a half-dozen more at the ground as she flew.

Aurea had to snap-roll away from the detonations and revert her weapon to its melee form. The girl grinned exultantly as she spun the cudgel end over end until it came to rest tucked between her right arm and body, with her left hand pointed towards Yang, ready to bring her weapon into play with an extra bit of whip. Her foe raised her dukes and both girls were grinning like thieves in a mint as they came to blows. Shells and bullets burst with frightening frequency, fiery auras pulsed and blows streaked across the dividing air with shattering violence. Both girls adored the grind, the thrill of battle; it was what they lived for. For foes, the Grimm were great but a person in close combat was simply something irreplaceable. The agility and wickedness of the human mind was just something a bumbling Beowulf could not compete with.

* * *

><p>Further away, Melanie Malachite skidded to a halt and stood ten paces away from Weiss Schnee. Haughty and indomitable like a sculpture of the nobility of times gone by, the Schnee heiress settled into calm repose. All of her fencing talents and experience took over almost subconsciously. Myrtenaster's blade was steady as a rock and pointed straight at Melanie's sternum. The Malachite girl sneered at the burning blade and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. She twisted her front foot to show off the cold steel on her heels.<p>

"Look at you, Weiss, you pretty little princess," said Melanie in a voice like flowing poison. "What is someone like you doing in a place for Huntresses? Did you embarrass the family so daddy sent you to learn some discipline? So many rumours about your move; after all, it was pretty sudden."

"What would you know you know of rumours, you low-life trash," answered Weiss dismissively. "You were nothing but an ornament. No one wanted anything to do with you."

"No one talked to me, sure. Oh, but I listened so very well, Miss Schnee, and in among the dismissive nonsense were so many juicy stories," taunted Melanie. "And when you work for a few information brokers, well, it's amazing the sort of truths you can piece together." She laughed aloud, hands arrogantly perched upon her hips. "And everyone thought you were so pure! But really, you're just another Schnee like all the rest of your crooked family," she accused, hurling the words like rotten fruit.

"Crooked family?!" spat Weiss hatefully, disgust twisting her beautiful features. "Oh, Melanie…"

With that she was away, a glyph of light blue light flashing as she burst forth across the dividing distance. Melanie stepped out of the line of attack and then pirouetted back inside, dropping an axe kick from on high that Weiss was obliged to deal with. The parry and riposte sent deadly steel whistling past Melanie's nose as she desperately swayed back, before twisting and bringing her heel blades back into the fight, going high, looking for Weiss' throat. They were intimidating strikes; her leg sprang out like a steel trap, all razor-sharp metal and serpentine speed. Against a foe unused to battle with humans, they would have been perfect unsettling blows. Naked edges flashing at such a vulnerable area could put the fear of death into nearly anyone.

But Weiss remained unruffled and every riposte made her enemy dance. They were harder to pin down than an ideal and as ephemeral as the wind in their movements. Both had impeccable technique in defence and both disliked each other with a burning passion. They tried their best to cut through, and every blow was one aimed to inflict as much damage to the recipient's aura as possible. It may not have been a battle where no quarter was asked for, but it was certainly a battle where no quarter was offered. But Weiss' glyphs were stronger than Melanie's semblance, and the Malachite girl's aura was forced to absorb glancing blow after blow, which was beginning to add up to a considerable strain.

* * *

><p>When Ruby took up her weapon and advanced, Velvet knew there wasn't anything more she could do for her friends. Instead she turned her attention to one Blake Belladonna, and her own frantic attempts at staving off the steel that swept back and forth around her. Holding her stave up defensively, she ran backwards as fast as she could, into the forest where it would inhibit Blake's ability to make use of her weapon's chain-scythe abilities. A much more conventional fighter-versus-mage battle would have been more to her tastes. Blake recognised Velvet's plan and smiled grimly, declining to press the attack as Velvet retreated. The move to the crowded terrain would suit her better than it did Velvet, who clearly didn't know enough about Blake's semblance.<p>

As she generated some space to work, Velvet pointed her staff at Blake and set her semblance to work. She consumed part of the blue dust in one of her canisters and launched a series of pulses of energy that leapt across the dividing space. The attack was long on the spectacular as it left fiery traces through the sky, but it was short on effectiveness as Blake delicately twisted Gambol Shroud's weapon form left and right to deflect each shot safely away. The range left Blake open to these kinds of assaults, but she preferred to keep her distance. For one thing, she didn't want to start sweating too hard while close to a faunus' nose. Faunuses all tended to be very good at identifying each other through some of the underlying scents, and Blake still hoped to keep her secret. Especially given that Weiss was still not the most egalitarian of souls when it came to Remnant's second-class citizens.

Velvet frowned and continued to back away, past the first of the large trees. "Alright, Blake, gut check, are you actually interested in fighting?"

Blake laughed with a bonhomie that surprised Velvet. "No, not really. Ruby just wanted me to stop you from interfering in the rest of the battle. I don't need to fight you to look Ruby in the eye and say I completed my mission. I just need to be able to tell her that you didn't interfere in the other battles."

"Huh," grunted the other girl, before she raised her hands. "Alright, parley, ceasefire, armistice, whatever you feel like."

The Team RWBY member nodded and sheathed Gambol Shroud, returning the weapon to its resting place on her back. "Works for me," she said simply, before dropping her hands to rest on her hips.

"Well," said Velvet, uncertainly, looking about. "I guess we have some time to kill whilst the rest of the gang sort out their differences." She took out her scroll and fixed it to the side of her staff so she could monitor her team's aura. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you seem like the only sane one out of your team."

Blake smiled a little, amused by a comment. "Don't be silly, they're good people, Yang especially. This morning was just a bit frustrating for everyone."

"You're going to have to forgive me," replied Velvet, "But I have a lot of doubts about the Schnee." Blake said nothing, not being especially inclined to defend the honour of the SDC to a faunus person. When she said nothing, Velvet continued on. "Yeah, this morning wasn't great. It didn't feel particularly good to have to stand there whilst my friends and your friends all decided to be complete cows to each other."

"Ruby wasn't being a cow to anyone," defended Blake reflexively.

Velvet gave the other girl a lopsided grin. "Yeah, sure, up until she shot one of them," she replied in a light-hearted tone.

"Okay, that was a little drastic, I'll admit," allowed Blake, scratching the back of her head absently as Velvet began to walk over. Behind them the sounds of battle were rolling across the meadow, full of shouts and ringing metal and the constant barking of bursting shells. Blake turned to look back towards the meadow, even though they had ended up too far away to see any details.

"Oh, don't worry about it, we probably had it coming," sighed Velvet as she walked up behind Blake. "It was a pretty crummy move to take the trophy you guys won fair and square. Jaune's team seems nice, though."

"Yeah, they're cool people. We've done a lot of work together already and they haven't let us down," allowed Blake as she fished out her own scroll to check team auras. "Jaune is kind of flaky, Nora is a crackpot, but they're both good sorts. Pyrrha and Ren are probably the two most reliable people I've met in the school so far."

"Sounds like high praise," noted Velvet optimistically. She stopped and made a face as she caught a sniff of something unusual and, behind Blake's back, glanced up at the girl's bow. "Tell me, Blake, if you said you were really hungry, and I said I had a big tuna fish, then on a scale of one to ten, how much of a cat faunus are you?" Blake jumped and spun about, eyes wide as saucers as she faced Velvet, who was still looking at the ribbon in Blake's jet hair. "I'm assuming there are adorable little kitty ears under that bow?"

"I can't say I appreciate the tuna stereotype," replied Blake in a distinctly unimpressed tone after several seconds.

"Okay, sorry about that, the joke was in bad taste," conceded Velvet with a contrite tilt of the head. "But you are, aren't you? No wonder you kept your distance so much in that fight, you didn't want me to catch your scent."

Blake sighed with feeling. "Yes, yes, I am."

"Well, your secret is safe with me. I don't intend to sell you out." Velvet mulled over broaching her next topic, before grimacing and then bulling on ahead. "So you like to pass as human?"

"Not especially," answered Blake with a faint blush. "But I have to."

"I always get torn on the subject," said Velvet distantly. "When Cardin's assholes are bullying me, I wish more than anything I'd been born cat, or fox, or something else that could pass as human. I suppose even, maybe, being born human. But at the same time, I resent all the faunus who manage to pass as human so much." She glanced up and sighed. "There's no mistaking these ears as anything else and there's no hiding them."

Blake kept a guilty silence before quietly saying, "I can understand that."

"So any particular reason you're not active in any of the faunus groups on campus?" asked Velvet a little bluntly. "I know it must be comfortable under that bow, but we could all do with the extra numbers."

"Right, because if I'm not part of a campus club, I've done nothing for faunus rights," suggested Blake in a sarcasm drenched tone. "Look, I've earned myself my share of enemies thanks to the cause, to say nothing of the fact I'm on the same team as the freaking heir to the Schnee Dust Company. So for now, yeah, I'm hiding under the bow."

Velvet cocked her eyebrows. "The cause? So you were a faunus rights activist before you came to Beacon?" she asked in surprise.

"Y-yeah," said Blake with just a touch of hesitation, which she hoped Velvet didn't notice.

Velvet gave her a frown and a slightly sceptical look. But before she could reply her scroll started to beep. One of the portraits on the display flashed violently with red hash marks. "No!" gasped Velvet. She turned to Blake. "Come on, there's trouble!"

* * *

><p>Miltiades stood and dusted off her dress as she saw Ruby walk her way out of the corner of her eye. The dark-haired little minx was resting her rifle scythe over her shoulder, fully extended and making her look like nothing so much as the Grim Reaper's adorable and perky niece.<p>

"You shot me in the back," complained Miltia. "Not so much as a warning shot."

Ruby shrugged. "That's just who I am," she explained. "Your aura must have taken a battering from that, if you surrender, I'll accept it."

"Shouldn't accepting it if I offer it just be a matter of course?" asked Miltia in surprise.

That just earned her an amused look as the Rose girl dropped the heavy scythe from her shoulder. "Wow, seriously? You didn't attend Signal Academy then," she said in surprise. The girl slid her right foot out for stability and slipped into an attacking stance, haft tilted across her body, head of the weapon angled back. The weapon was ready to sweep across violently from the right, able to strike high or low.

Miltiades looked blankly at the girl. "One of us clearly wasn't raised right," she speculated dryly after a moment, settling into her own fighting stance. "But I suspect it was you; I wonder how many unhealthy habits you would have learned at a certain manor in the Northwoods?" Her dual wrist claws smoothly moved into position, one low, forward and pointed up, the other much further back and high. She took a moment of grim satisfaction as a current of shock clearly burst across her foe's body.

Ruby recovered quickly, and tilted her head with a grin. "You'll have to tell me how you know me. But you should be careful. They record everything that happens on these exercises, you know."

"How did I know you?" repeated Miltiades. She shook her head teasingly. "Silly brat, if there is a more distinctive weapon than yours…"

Ruby frowned as she mulled that over, but then shrugged. "Come on, Miltia, it's time to let our sweethearts finish our talk," concluded Ruby. "Since you don't want to surrender."

The older student blinked in surprise and then laughed at her foe. "Surrender?" she asked incredulously. "Let's see how you well you do when your enemy is facing you."

Ruby subtly shifted her weight up and forward. Crescent Rose dipped until the haft just kissed her upper arm. The movements were ephemeral and her expression never wavered from girlish giddiness. But the moment metal brushed her cloth there was a tremendous bang and black smoke vented from the scythe's head. Ruby's bicep was the fulcrum for her weapon, and her hands pulled inward so that Crescent Rose screamed in laterally on a brutal arc. In its train it pulled the leaves from the ground like a sudden storm.

Adrenaline surged through Miltiades like a familiar friend. She collapsed her right knee and pushed off with the left, tucking her body down and in to try to roll under the scythe. The sudden resumption of hostilities had not caught her napping, thankfully, and the great reaping blade skimmed along just millimetres from the cloth of her dress. It sounded like a freight train as it passed and her hair and dress whipped and crackled in the wind it displaced.

She came up spinning to the outside to drive a left jab with her claws at Ruby, gauging that she wouldn't be able to bring her defence back that far. She underestimated Ruby's prowess. The girl placed a hand high on the haft of the scythe and the butt-end ripped up to deflect the claw.

Again Ruby tucked the weapon in, back towards the right this time, just like she had a field of wheat before her. Miltia spun into it, windmilling both claws to stop and then deflect the strike. But each time the kinetic impact raced up her arm, the very act of stopping the weapon burnt her aura. Her green eyes widened to the size of saucers. Taking the weapon head on was clearly not a particularly smart idea. Miltia pirouetted in the other direction and slashed in at Ruby, her weapons landing with a flash and driving the girl back a couple of steps.

'First blood,' she thought to herself with grim satisfaction. But she knew she would have to hit Ruby many times to stop her, whilst she wasn't sure she could take more than one or two hits from Crescent Rose before she was in deep trouble.

Looking to seize the moment and exploit the opening, she charged and leapt at the younger student. Ruby flipped a switch to drop the locking pins of the scythe's head, so the blade slipped back until it locked into the next set of slots, which effectively formed a straight-bladed halberd. Miltia abruptly realised she wasn't going to close the distance in time. Sure enough, she saw that crystalline moment as the weapon flashed and the black smoke began to vent. Ruby twisted and levered her weapon around to harness Crescent Rose's power ruthlessly. Miltia had already leapt, and now found herself ungrounded before the weapon's path of destruction. It was a worst case scenario. She had no choice but to raise her arms with their protective gauntlets and take the blow. There was a bright flash from her aura and then she was flying.

She wailed as she tumbled and collided with the ground, twisted end over end. But she was okay, the blow had been blocked. Sure, she was twenty metres away from where she started and feeling very sorry for herself, but she still had her health, and her aura. She groggily stood, spitting out bits of red leaf and she saw Ruby settling her weapon back into its customary hooked configuration. There was now considerable space between them, and Miltia began to consider the options the space afforded her, when her memory twigged.

'Wait, space? You can't give Ruby Rose that much straight-line space! She'll…!' thought Miltiades in a panic. Her eyes went wide as saucers.

But the red-caped minx had already disappeared into the cloud of rose petals that was her semblance's signature. Miltia knew the girl was moving faster than the eye could track, and she swayed left, trying to start a snap-roll out of the path of danger. Ruby coalesced again in front of her astonishingly soon, with one knee raised, hands high and Crescent Rose held back. Again she saw the flash and the smoke, repeated this time as Ruby gave it a double dose of cross round fire.

All Miltiades could do was watch, vainly trying to throw her arms up and sway to the left, as that great blood-red beak of the weapon came down. All of the weapon's weight, combined with the kinetic energy and inertia of the recoil and the semblance, was riding right behind the solitary tip of the weapon. So concentrated was this energy that Miltia's aura didn't even have a chance to compete with it. She felt the tip come down upon her collarbone on the right, and there was a sharp pulse of light as her aura attempted and failed to resist. And then the beastly weapon drove straight on through. The Malachite girl had the briefest sensation of being rag-dolled, with her legs sliding out from under her. The catastrophic blow drove her hard to the ground. The scythe sank hard into the earth beneath her, transfixing her. She blinked numbly as she watched little red misty droplets that the blow had launched skyward fell back to earth, spattering across her face.

Ruby was leaning over her with a terrified expression. "Oops," breathed the young girl, the enormity of the mistake she had just made crashing over her. The girl stood and raised a hand as Miltia began to go into shock. "Medic! Medic! For the love of Dust, Medic!" screamed Ruby to her classmates.

Pyrrha came rushing over, having made the race across the field at a dead sprint. "Oh my god, Ruby, what have you done?" she asked in a horrified gasp as she saw the carnage and the blood soaking into the ground.

"Less judge, more help!" cried out Ruby frantically. "She's not dead yet."

Pyrrha grimaced unhappily. "Uh, Ruby, I don't...," she began to say before her eyes widened as she noticed signs of life in the downed girl. "You're right! She still has aura keeping her together! Don't move that scythe, whatever else you do." She knelt down next to the girl. "Give me your cape, Ruby, she's going into shock and we need to keep her warm. Her aura will keep regenerating blood and cauterising her wounds, for now. But if it has handle things like body temperature she'll run out too soon." Ruby passed the blood-red cloak to Pyrrha promptly and she covered Miltiades' legs with it. "Thank you." She glanced between Miltia and Ruby uncertainly. 'If she still has aura, why didn't it stop the blow?' she wondered silently.

Ruby knelt across from Pyrrha, on Miltia's right. "Are you still with us, Miltia?" she asked.

"Ah, no, don't say anything Miltia, just stay awake and let your aura work," interrupted Pyrrha as she saw Miltia's lips begin to move. "You're running on just the one lung, so don't push it, okay?"

All around them the sounds of battle began to die down. Ruby was settling back on her heels as she watched Pyrrha go to work, passing a thread of her own aura into Miltia. But the calm tableau did not last, as she heard Melanie scream nearby. "What the fuck did you do?!" shrieked the other Malachite girl as she saw her fallen sister. Ruby only had a moment to prepare before a hand grabbed her by the head and flung her back to the ground away from the wounded student. On reflex she went into a back roll and came up on her feet, dancing back away from the confrontation. When she had eyes on Melanie again, the girl was at her sister's side, holding her hand. "You're alive," whispered Melanie to her sister. "Oh thank god."

Nora moved in alongside Ruby and put one hand on the girl's shoulder, but also one hand across her body, preventing the team leader from moving back towards the twins in case it caused trouble. Ren had similarly moved into a careful screening position next to Melanie. The two old partners had communicated and implemented their plan silently on the strength of years of familiarity, needing only a few gestures and nods.

"Grimm and Dust, Ruby," said Melanie without looking away from her sister. "We weren't doing anything worse than a practical joke."

"Melanie, this whole forest is a battlefield," pointed out Ruby sourly. "Why on Remnant are you trying to pull pranks in the middle of a battlefield?"

Before she could answer that, Velvet interrupted them. The rabbit faunus was coming towards the group at a run, with a very distracted and unsettled Blake in tow. "Melanie, where's Miltia?" called out the dust mage as soon as she was in earshot. "My scroll is going crazy, says she's hurt."

"Over here!" yelled Melanie as she stood up next to Crescent Rose. "You're late! Hurry up; we need that semblance of yours, now!"

Velvet came to a skidding halt as she saw the great red scythe fixed into the ground, and the fallen form it had pinned like a butterfly to a display cabinet. Blake nearly bowled her over as she couldn't quite come to a halt in time. "What the _hell_, Ruby Rose!?" she asked in shock, but she didn't wait to hear any reply, rushing to join her team leader. As a dust mage, among the abilities her semblance allowed her, in conjunction with the right dust, was the ability to push along another person's healing process with her own aura. Pyrrha clapped the dust mage on the shoulder when she arrived. Since she could see Miltiades was now in good hands, the latter-day hoplite left her to it, and then walked off to grab Jaune. She partly intended to get him up to date, but also wanted to make sure her leader wasn't day dreaming in the middle of a crisis.

Yang and Weiss moved to Ruby's side, making sure the girl was alright after having just been a part of a severe act of violence. To Yang's surprise Weiss moved to the far side of Ruby with a stressed look. Eschewing her usual reserve, Weiss took her partner's hand into her left hand and leaned around to look her in the eye. Her free hand gripped the stays at the front of Ruby's dress, jangling a series of small charms the younger girl wore along the cords.

"You dolt, Ruby, what were you doing," asked Weiss in a voice that was all panic and no heat. "What if that silly Malachite girl had died, you could be expelled. What were you thinking?"

"Weiss," snapped Yang irritably, giving the white-haired girl a look that made it clear protective big sister didn't think she was helping.

"I... I don't know," denied Ruby in a frantic tone. "We were fighting, she gave me a run-up and bang. I don't know, it was a mistake, I really don't know." She looked up at Yang. "Do you think they're going to expel me?"

"Ruby, they're not going to expel you because someone else's aura wasn't strong enough," sighed Yang. "You're going to be fine. Beacon are training warriors, same as at Signal, they expect people will get hurt in the process."

"Yang, this isn't just an injury in sparring class," pointed out Weiss nervously. "We picked a fight during a field exercise and then nearly killed someone, this is pretty serious."

"You're worrying too much," said Yang firmly. "What, have you never been in trouble before, princess? Stop trying to freak Ruby out."

"Not trouble I couldn't bribe my way out of," hissed Weiss so only they could hear it.

"But ... I was put forward two years, it'd be really easy to just send me back," said Ruby softly, pale with nervousness. "All they need to say is 'not mature' and I'll be on the next airship to Signal."

"Look, she's not going to die now that Velvet is here," reassured the blonde sister as she pulled Ruby into an embrace.

Weiss sighed and realised she wasn't doing Ruby any good with her panic and forced herself to settle down. She gave her partner's hand a squeeze and quickly tried to come up with something more encouraging. "Look, once we get back, I'm going to take us all out for coffee, and ... yes, Ruby, and cookies, and we're going to have a talk." She looked around at the other students, then back at Ruby. "I think we all have some things to share."

"That may be a good idea," agreed Yang.

Ruby looked up and managed a smile for Weiss. "At the place with those spiced hot chocolates you told me about?" she asked. Weiss sighed deeply at her but finished with a nod and a grin. The girl was terribly hard to say no to.

Ruby made an effort to look happy for the two girls as she tried to curb her stress about the punishment that was sure to come. It wasn't having much effect.

Velvet's voice called out brashly. "Hey, Ruby, get over here," she demanded, profound irritation clear in her voice. Ruby took a moment to duck her head and steel her nerves. Then she left her team mates behind and approached the dust mage who was kneeling over the wounded Miltiades.

"What do you need?" asked Ruby nervously.

"Can I trust you not to try and finish the job on Miltia?" asked Velvet.

"Eh?" retorted Ruby indignantly.

"Are you still axe crazy, or have you stopped trying to get your murder on?" translated Melanie tartly from where she stood nearby.

Ruby turned her stare between Velvet and Melanie, unamused at the idea behind the questions. "The fight is over." The confronting attitude was beginning to burn through her anxieties and push her concerns about how much trouble she was in to the side.

Melanie snorted, but Velvet shrugged and nodded. "Fine. Get ready to take this oversized hedge trimmer out of Miltiades, my semblance will help seal up the blood vessels as you withdraw it," explained Velvet as she rubbed her hands together to focus. "But do it slow, okay?"

"Yeah, I got it," acknowledged Ruby. "Just let me know when."

The black and red-clad student knelt next to Miltiades, across from Velvet, who was making a few last-minute inspections of the vast wound tract. Ruby took the moment and leaned past the head of her scythe to look down at Miltia. The older girl was looking back up at her with a peculiarly peaceful expression, a sort of bemused sang-froid. Blood stained Miltia's face, and her hair was scattered messily. When she saw Ruby looking at her, she rolled her eyes. The younger girl smiled at that, and felt some of her anxiety fade at the sight of the frivolous gesture.

"Bit much, you think?" rasped the girl dryly. Velvet immediately gave her a distracted admonishment to stay silent.

Ruby smiled and reached down to brush aside the matted hair that stretched across Miltia's cheek, then licked her thumb and absently wiped away a spattered patch of blood on her cheek. "You want me to go half-hearted? That's not how Crescent Rose and I fight," she answered, dimly aware that she was getting a lot of looks from the other students.

Miltiades rolled her eyes again. "I'll get even," she promised in a mild tone.

Ruby rolled her eyes before she glanced up at Velvet, who had paused to stare at her. "Ready?"

"Yeah, sure, get ready," confirmed Velvet as she returned to her work with a shake of her head. Ruby reached over and curled her fingers around the thick stem just in from the scythe head, and braced herself. "Alright, out with it."

"Sorry, Miltia, this is going to hurt a bit," said Ruby contritely.

Deceptively strong thighs strained to provide the push to force the weapon out of the dirt it was part-interred in. Velvet glowed with the pale golden hue of her aura as the spells of her semblance knitted sundered flesh and the steel slowly rose out of the wound. Crescent Rose's thick blade came out so soiled with blood that Ruby sighed with the thought of how much cleaning and maintenance she had coming up. As potent as the weapon was, maintaining it could be outrageously hard work.

"Good, that'll tide you over until we get you to a doctor," assessed Velvet as she looked over the ugly laceration that was now at least somewhat pinned closed. "Let's see... You're looking at a couple of nights cooling your heels in the infirmary, and I'd say about a week of only classroom work. Could have been a lot worse, especially if I hadn't been here." She glanced up at Ruby and her weapon, and frowned. She really had not appreciated how large the weapon was until she had gotten this close and seen it planted in someone. Dripping wet with blood, Ruby's heavy scythe was perhaps the most intimidating weapon Velvet had seen in her life. "You really need to be more careful, Ruby," she admonished.

"Thanks," said Miltiades as she gasped and wheezed as new air surged into her chest. She was nearly teary-eyed at no longer operating on just a single lung; it had not been a fun experience for her. Ruby began to get up and leave when, against Velvet's protests, Miltia began to prop herself up. "Wait, Ruby," she called firmly. People jumped in to help; Melanie had hands at the girl's back, Velvet at her shoulder, whilst Ruby caught her arm. Miltia looked up at Ruby and frowned and sat up straighter. The arm Ruby held came up and gave the girl a very weak slap, just to register the protest. "Don't expect me to thank you; you wouldn't have had to take that rotten thing out if you hadn't put it in me first, you little jerk." Despite the hostile phrasing, there was only relief in her voice.

"If you think you owe me one, then fight harder next time," retorted Ruby in amusement as she finished standing and began to walk back towards her team mates.

"And maybe next time you could let me know when you plan to start fighting," bickered Miltiades before she began to lay back down. Ruby returned to Yang, Weiss and Blake, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the Team Maven girls.

A flash of yellow light caught everyone's attention as a woman falling from the sky above them began to rapidly decelerate with repeated blasts of golden energy. Her control was exquisite as she came to a halt so gentle she didn't land so much as just step onto the ground. So into the centre of the gathering with a face as dark and fell as an eclipse strode Glynda Goodwitch with her weapon nakedly in hand. Fury etched itself on her features as she surveyed the situation. Ruby went pale as a ghost when she saw how angry their teacher was, and clutched tightly at Weiss' hand for encouragement.

"Everyone, this excursion is over, we will be returning post-haste," announced the teacher in a whip-crack tone that turned everyone's heads. "Two Bullheads are en route for dust-off and medevac. I'll expect to see all team leaders at the Headmaster's office immediately upon landing."

Yang sighed and muttered in Ruby's ear, "Oh good, just like old times. Bust heads. Then try to talk your way out of it with the Law." Ruby turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Just talking doesn't get you out of trouble," whispered Weiss from the other side. "You've got to know how to wheel and deal." She smirked a little. "That's how Schnees do business."

Blake looked at them and just sighed inwardly. 'Must be nice to belong to a social group that can actually get out of trouble,' she thought morosely.


	3. Facing the Music

**A/N: Look, I ... have no idea what happened to the chapter length on this one. My brief to myself on this chapter was two lines, and then all of a sudden **_**this**_** happened. So, uh, sorry about that. This is a bit of a tone shift from the more action-oriented first two chapters, but it shouldn't be to the point of whiplash.**

**Hope you all enjoy. Reviews are, naturally, appreciated.**

Ruby Rose, Melanie Malachite, and Jaune Arc stood shoulder to shoulder under the verbal barrage that Glynda Goodwitch was handing out. Her voice thundered in the spacious office as she marched up and down the line of team leaders. She had already spent several minutes going through the broken rules, by-laws, regulations, codes of conduct, and other similar transgressions they had already committed on their abortive excursion in detail. Glynda was an old hand at the art of the dressing down, and she was tearing strips off of the three students with merry abandon.

Under the sustained assault, Ruby was white as a ghost and Jaune looked frantic, unable to understand why he was even there. Melanie, however, was sullenly fuming, looking at Glynda from just under her brows, with her fists clenched by her sides. The white-clad twin had a proud streak a mile wide and she did not enjoy kowtowing to the establishment.

"Unbelievable," snapped Glynda as she ceased her pacing. "Ladies and Gentleman, we have rules in this institution for a reason. Melanie, I see you glaring at me, but this was as much a consequence of your tom-foolery as it was of Ruby's ill-discipline." Melanie opened her mouth to protest, but Glynda swiftly cut her off with an outstretched hand. "One word, Miss Malachite, just one solitary word and you will be serving afternoon detentions for the next fortnight. You have all done, and said, quite enough out in the field."

Melanie settled back silently, though she all but quivered with the effort of suppressing an angry response.

"I am furious with all three of you," she stated.

"But Ms Goodwitch," protested Jaune foolishly, "Why am I here? What did I do wrong?"

Glynda turned the full weight of her glare on Jaune, who quailed before it. "Mr Arc," she said in a clipped, viscerally angry tone. "We sent three teams on this assignment, did we not?"

"Yes, ma'am," affirmed Jaune.

"You led one of those three teams, did you not?" continued Glynda.

"Yes, ma'am," repeated the young swordsman.

"It has come to our attention that the bad blood between teams Ruby and Maven was made known to you this morning." Glynda waited for Jaune to nod. "During this time, you also became aware of the weapons load-out for Team Maven, correct? Now, given your own training and experience as a combatant, and your own previous experience fighting Grimm in training, surely you would have noticed that the weapons of your fellow team was specialised for smaller monsters, and were in fact ill-suited to a Deathstalker?"

"It-it ... hadn't occurred to me, uh, ma'am," stammered Jaune nervously, as he began to see where this was going.

"Mister Arc, this was exactly the moment where your responsibility as a team leader meant that you needed to take control of the situation. You had two fellow teams with bad blood, one of whose equipment left them at a disadvantage against the target. Everything that happened in that farce of an exercise could and _should_ have been avoided, had you stepped up to your responsibilities."

Glynda turned a baleful look at the two girls. "This is not to say that I absolve you two of blame in any fashion. This was a tripartite failure of discipline, responsibility and leadership. Don't think the existence of bad blood gets you off the hook; you each had an excellent opportunity to clean the slate by cooperating, and neither of you seized the moment." She turned back to Jaune and pointed. "But you, Mister Arc, you were the neutral party, you had the best opportunity to ensure a good outcome. And what did you do?"

"I ... I blew it," lamented the young man as he seemed to visibly collapse in on himself.

"Oh, don't throw yourself a pity party!" exploded Glynda in frustration. "Take some responsibility and resolve to do better! You should have organised the three teams to hunt the Deathstalkers as a group. You could have fostered cooperation." She gestured irately at the two girls. "When your allies are compromised and you aren't, it is your responsibility to step up. Instead you let these two act like posturing baboons!"

"Miss Goodwitch!" protested Melanie in shock.

"Miss Malachite," began the teacher as she stepped in front of the girl and folded her arms below her chest. "I am a staunch advocate for students learning to adapt and overcome obstacles and challenges by whatever means are at hand, even to degrees that in a strictly academic environment would be considered blatant cheating. We train Huntresses, warriors! But when you steal the objective of a team that was supposed to be an ally out of a petty refusal to ask for help, that isn't adapting and overcoming, that's just stupid, and I refuse to let it be called anything else!"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Melanie in a much more subdued tone as Glynda's rebuke forced her back on her heels.

"Melanie, I know you haven't come up through a conventional warrior's education," said Glynda in a more conciliatory tone. "But you need to remember, you are in a school with real weapons and really talented fighters. Now, you have to keep your wits, Melanie, because as much as Beacon is a symbol of hope and the protection of Mankind, it is also volatile. So a failure to cooperate, to communicate, leads to what we had this morning. I don't like it, I really don't. But it is what it is."

The former bodyguard bowed her head. "Yes, ma'am."

"I hope that you two understand what I am trying to say here," continued Glynda. "Many students are trained and conditioned towards violence, that's just a part of training warriors. You both knew that Ruby's team is dangerous-"

"Dangerous!? Ma'am!" protested Ruby suddenly.

"Uh, ma'am, how was I-," joined Jaune before he was cut off himself.

"Whose team did Cardin Winchester pick fights with, Jaune; yours or Ruby's?" asked Glynda blandly. "Didn't the fact that Cardin was happy to pick fights with you and even someone as strong as Miss Nikos, but didn't want a bar of trouble with Ruby's team tell you anything?" Jaune glanced down the line at Ruby in surprise, but the girl blushed and looked away.

Glynda shook her head and sighed. "Alright, I'm putting a suspended sentence on all three of you; if we have a repeat of this incident on assignment, your teams will each lose their weekend leave privileges for three months and all three of you will be separately required to show cause as to why you should not be stood down from leadership. But your key punishment will be that team Maven will be permanently replacing team Cardinal in your group. You will learn to work cooperatively despite personal animosity, or you'll find ways to flunk out." She nodded to the door. "Your classes were cancelled for the field assignment so you're on free time now; I suggest everyone clears their heads. Classes are as usual tomorrow morning. Miss Malachite, Mister Arc, you may both leave. Miss Rose, the Headmaster requires you to remain behind; he will talk with you personally."

Melanie's eyes widened in horror. "Is Ruby seriously only getting the same punishment as us?" she asked, outrage blossoming into her tone. "She almost _killed _Miltia!"

"Miss Malachite, has nothing I've said sunk in?" berated Glynda sharply. "If you had been listening at all, you would understand why this is. You have all committed an offense as a collective. You will answer for it as a collective. Do you think a school for Hunters will look more kindly on a _provocateur _than someone who answered treachery with violence? Ruby was wrong to do what she did, but I promise you, if Miltiades had died today, the student body would refer to you for the rest of your time at Beacon as that girl who got her sister killed stupidly. Now, Ruby is going to have to deal with the Headmaster directly for her personal part, but collectively, you are all facing the wages of leadership."

Glynda's voice cracked like thunder through the air, a mix of fire, anger and irresistible authority. Melanie took a step back and finally her arrogance bent far enough for her to understand her own role in the disastrous morning. Silently the girl walked to the doors alongside Jaune. Her hand covered her mouth as she thought over everything Glynda had said.

When the pair stepped outside, they found the eight remaining team members waiting for them anxiously, filling Ozpin's lobby. All of them stood up as the two team leaders appeared, and began clamouring for answers. They had all heard Glynda's raised voice, but the actual conversation was a mystery, and all wanted to know what had happened. Pyrrha went straight to Jaune and pulled him aside, while Melanie had Velvet and Aurea at her sides.

"Ms Goodwitch, where is Ruby?" asked Yang anxiously.

"Ozpin wanted to talk to Ruby privately about what happened," explained Glynda. "She'll be another few minutes yet."

Across the room Pyrrha talked privately with Jaune as Nora and Ren walked over. "Jaune, are you alright?" she asked concernedly. "It sounded like Glynda was tearing strips off you in there. Why were you getting chewed out?"

Jaune had a wretched hang dog expression on his face. "She said I screwed up and that if I had been doing my job as leader, none of this would have happened."

"Wh-what? What did she mean?" asked Pyrrha in surprise, rearing back. The nervous swordsman began to explain everything Glynda had hit him with in a shaky torrent. Pyrrha frowned as she listened, but when he was done, she was chagrined. "I see," muttered the young woman. "I guess we were kind of self-centred today."

"I blew it," repeated Jaune with a heaving sigh.

Lie Ren cleared his throat meaningfully. "Maybe you blew it this morning, but the wheel turns and you have a new situation here." He looked over his shoulder at where Melanie was beginning to drift away with her team. "If you want a suggestion, here's your chance to start a new accord."

Jaune fell silent and contemplative. He looked at Lie Ren, then at Pyrrha's hopeful, expectant expression, and glanced at Melanie's confused and upset huddle. He nodded slowly, ginning himself up. "I'm listening," he said slowly and carefully. For all that he was allowing himself to wallow, his confidence from his battles with Cardin had given him a drive and a confidence to overcome those self-destructive tendencies. He just sometimes needed a push from his friends. As Lie Ren began to quickly outline his plan, Jaune's hangdog expression was replaced by a smile. He turned to his fellow team leader and called out to her. "Hey, Melanie, wait up, hang around for a moment."

* * *

><p>Ruby sat across the desk from Ozpin, steeling herself for the interrogation that he had planned. She tried to remember everything she had said in her conversation with Miltiades, which would all be a part of the mission record. This would be a huge test of her nerves, she knew. All that could be proved was there had been a fight, which both sides had agreed to, and she knew she would have to remember that.<p>

"Hello again, Ruby," said Ozpin to the silver-eyed girl across the desk. "I didn't really expect to be having another sit-down talk with you so soon."

"I didn't really expect to be here either, Professor Ozpin," admitted Ruby.

"Of course," agreed Ozpin.

There was a brief silence, as the holographic display on Ozpin's desk began to replay the slaying of the Deathstalker at the beginning of the mission, followed by Ruby's battle with Miltiades. Ruby watched both wordlessly, assessing her performance ruthlessly, picking out minute flaws in her technique that only herself or Uncle Qrow could ever have found. However, when the end of the fight came around, showing the incident that had her in trouble, she blushed and shifted awkwardly in her seat.

'Welp, that was a dumb move,' she thought to herself. 'Just as well it didn't quite work, or I'd really be in it now.'

"Speaking of the unexpected, how about the end to that duel with Miltiades Malachite," began Ozpin as he stopped the image, lamenting the fact he only had the one angle of the fight as the four concurrent battles had taken up all of the camera drones that followed missions. "I knew that old Qrow was far too cantankerous to bother training an ordinary talent in as dangerous a weapon as the sniper scythe. But I must admit, I have been astounded every time I've seen you in action."

"Sir?" asked Ruby in confusion, having expected a lecture.

"You have a power and talent that for a first year student, even at your early age, is well beyond the curve," explained Ozpin. "Your trick to defeat the Nervermore and the Deathstalker this morning was something I've never seen from a first-year before. In fact it was actually part of why we switched Team Cardinal for Team Maven."

"I don't follow," said Ruby.

"I mean you are dangerous, Ruby, to the point we worry about the students around you," explained Ozpin with a deceptive congeniality. "Team Juniper is actually very powerful by first year standards. Jaune's aura is immense; Pyrrha's combat prowess is exceptional; Nora's strength is prodigious; Lie Ren's talent at manipulating his aura is truly unique. And even they are still shaded by your team in terms of power."

He manipulated the controls at his desk, calling up archived mission footage of the initiation mission where they defeated a huge Deathstalker and Nevermore.

"It's actually not normal to have taken on elder Grimm like this," said Ozpin with a laugh. "Did you know that the Nevermore you slew in your initiation mission had harassed the four groups we sent out before your own? Everyone else simply hid until it went by because it was too dangerous."

"Aw, come on, Professor, it was tough, but not that tough," demurred Ruby, rubbing at the back of her head with embarrassment.

The professor gave her a bemused look. "When Team Cardinal ran away from the Ursa that Jaune single-handedly defeated, that was a clear sign that we would have to switch up the teams. There was no helping it. If Cardin's men could not keep up with Juniper, then simply being around your team would soon become unacceptably dangerous."

Ruby sat silently, considering the ramifications of what Ozpin had said. "So when Glynda said the teams were being kept together so we learned to cooperate…?"

"It's true, but not the full extent," explained the headmaster. "This is between you and me, now, Ruby. You can't mention this to even your partner, or sister. The other reason why Team Maven has been added to your group instead of Team Cardinal, is because they were the only available team we could move and have some confidence that they would be safe."

"Why would Cardin's team not be safe?" asked Ruby, dismayed at the implications.

"Because, Ruby Rose, you clearly mean to go in harm's way," pointed out Ozpin. "And your team follows you with gusto. Not to mention that you all have no qualms fighting people as well as Grimm. Both Glynda and myself decided after the incident with the Ursa that if Cardin were around the next time you found and chose to battle full-grown elder Grimm, they would be, well, toast."

He leaned back and smiled wryly, playing the various video clips of the morning's battles. "Of course, we've hit a snag, haven't we?"

"I'm sure my team and Melanie's team can sort something out," said Ruby hurriedly. "There's no need to do anything drastic! Like sending me back to Signal..." She tried to recover her poise swiftly, but it was very hard with her nerves jangling. Ozpin's presentation was not what he had expected to see.

"I'm curious though, as to what you need to sort out with Miltiades," asked Ozpin. "It seemed very unusual. She said she knew you, and you seemed to accept that, but you didn't know her. In fact, it sounded as if Miltiades had some secrets that you didn't want revealed where they could be recorded. I have to ask, Miss Rose, was the grave injury really an accident?"

"What are you trying to say?" asked Ruby at the unexpected challenge. As the conversation shifted to life and death matters, Ruby became calmer. Her eyes narrowed and her whole expression took on an edge. She was comfortable on the knife edge, it was familiar ground for her now. Nothing was betrayed by her body language as she kept herself in careful control.

Ozpin gave the girl a gaze born of more than a decade of teaching, one which made far older students than Ruby quail. The girl breathed deeply and kept calm. "I'm saying, it is the considered opinion of all seven professors I have shown this to so far, that your final blow was an attempt to murder, not simply defeat, Miltiades."

Several seconds passed as Ozpin waited for Ruby to respond, but when she remained silent, he continued. He did take mental note of her silence, however.

"You were both very cagey with each other about that past. Frankly, I'm surprised you had crossed paths at all," elaborated the headmaster. "Both the Malachite twins took harder roads to get to Beacon than you or your sister. I know most of where their journey took them, and I didn't expect an adorable young girl like yourself to have trod those roads. But to see a very talented fighter cut down like that, Ruby, I have to wonder if it was by design."

"You're asking if I tried to murder her," clarified Ruby. "I'm not sure what sort of answer you expect to get headmaster? I just got unlucky with my hit, is all. Miltiades' aura didn't hold up with the last blow. If you look at the footage, you can see that it was just a normal swing that went askew and hit point first and I didn't realise Miltiades was that low on aura." She spread her hands and grimaced. "It's because she ended up landing so far back, I didn't want to give her all that space, so I chased her down ... well, maybe a little too quickly?"

"Yes, well, unfortunately, we don't have a very good footage of your particular fight. I'm reluctant to take drastic action at this stage with such ambiguous evidence. So I won't take this further today, Ruby Rose," reassured Professor Ozpin with a deep frown, displeasure in his voice. "But for the time-being, be aware that you will be under heightened scrutiny. I'd suggest caution if you find yourself sparring or otherwise matching weapons with your fellow students."

Well, this was starting to tread dangerous ground, thought Ruby. "So you think Melanie's team is stronger than Cardin's was?" interrupted Ruby, in part to get the conversation off of that uncomfortable track.

Ozpin tapped at his desk for a moment, deciding whether to allow the change in tack. But he knew he didn't have anything but the hunches of himself and his staff to put to Ruby at this stage. He nodded his head, flipping through the various feeds from the fights. "All four of them have very strong auras, particularly Velvet. The way you burned through Miltiades' aura is already the talk of the faculty, even leaving aside the discussion on what your intentions in that fight were."

Ruby shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she endured the implicit accusation. Silence was her friend right now. The faces of the four team Maven girls flipped through Ozpin's display, one by one, as the headmaster began to explain the reasons behind his confidence.

"Velvet Scarletina is the best mage in the first year intake by a wide margin. And her healing skills may help keep your allies afloat the next time you have a swing go 'askew'," he suggested in a sharp admonishing tone. "If Team Maven had elected to attack a Deathstalker on their own, it would have most likely fallen to Velvet to do the damage while the others ran interference. Her natural talents are augmented by the Collapsible Dust-Integrated Stave, Wishbearer. Personally, I would have backed her to succeed against the Deathstalker, if her friends could keep it at bay. Goodwitch has very high hopes for her."

"Aurea Perrault is a flexible fighter, with a semblance that allows her to lull a weaker or unsuspecting opponent into a deep sleep. It can generate a fierce light, able to illuminate or temporarily blind. She calls her weapon Sole in its carbine form, or Luna in its cudgel form. Together with that weapon, she normally has twin vambraces named Talia, that are off being repaired at the moment. Where Aurea really shines is when she gets in close, using her cudgel to batter an enemy down."

"Melanie Malachite is cunning, although today perhaps shows she needs to come to terms with the more challenging environment here in Beacon," explained Ozpin. "Her weapon, though admirably subtle, is not well suited to Grimm, but that will be getting upgraded soon. She is only new to her semblance, and is still learning the ropes, but with a very strong aura she has a lot of potential that Beacon will bring out of her." He smiled with a teacher's pride. "Her ambition is strong, and we're just the institution to channel and direct that into a higher purpose."

"Miltiades Malachite, well, you saw her up close, what did you think?" asked Ozpin. "In your professional opinion as an aspiring Huntress?"

Ruby was taken aback by the request, and she took a moment to collect her thoughts. "She was quick," she said after her pause. "Like, really quick. And flexible. That first swing I took is a staple of mine that I like to lead off with. I aim for a sweet spot, too deep to back-step out of, too high to spring over, but too low to go under, and if you step into it, it pulls into you anyway. So ... it usually creates a moment of uncertainty and my opponent has to try and block Crescent Rose head-on, which rattles a lot of people. She had an instant to decide, chose to go under and was fast enough to get under it. That's really hard to do." She rubbed at the back of her head, self-conscious about the fact it all sounded like boasting. "And she tagged me with her claws, and I don't leave many opportunities to do that." Ruby grimaced and rubbed at her cheek in remembered pain. "Sparring with Yang teaches you not to leave any gaps in your guard, she'll make you take Ember Celica to the teeth every time you do."

"Just so," agreed Ozpin. "Her semblance is developing nicely. Sort of like your semblance increases your speed in bursts, Miltiades' gives her a preternatural agility. It's a bit limited now, but see her confidence and skill in it grow and she will be very hard to hit."

"But her raw strength is kinda poor and weapons are pretty ho-hum," complained Ruby. "Need to mix in some dust to electrify or cold-shroud the blades, or work in a short-range automatic between the blades! I doubt she's even named them..."

"Your inner weapon designer coming to the fore, I see," noted Ozpin. "If this Huntress dream ever has to take a back-seat, then at least you know you'll always have a trade to fall back on."

"Ha-ha," grumbled Ruby.

Ozpin leaned forward to give Ruby's eyes a searching look, looking for weaknesses he could leverage to get to the truth of her battle with Miltiades. But she didn't give him anything to work with, and he sighed and conceded the point. "That will be all, Ruby, go re-join your friends. In addition to the group punishments, you owe me a two thousand word after action report on today's fracas. It needs to include a nice healthy section on why it was wrong to attack your fellow team. By five o'clock tomorrow afternoon." With that he looked down and began to scribble notes with a stylus on his scroll.

"Yes, sir," accepted Ruby with a sigh as she stood up and walked to the doorway.

* * *

><p>"So it's agreed?" asked Jaune, arms folded over his chest.<p>

"Hey, if this helps us with not getting snuffed by these crazies, I'm happy to join in," said Melanie rather undiplomatically.

"Just how do you think you'll create any sort of safety and cooperation if you keep talking like that?" complained the team Juniper leader.

"That's right," interjected Pyrrha. "Melanie, I know you don't like them yet, but if we're stuck together, we can cooperate, or we can all have a miserable time. You're as smart as anyone here, can't you see that?"

Melanie sighed and let her head hang into her hand. "I know, I know that. I'm sorry guys, it's just hard. You know? Yang already wrecked my career once, single-handedly, while Weiss over there was much more involved in making my other job guarding society boys a living hell than she seems to want admit to. I look at them and my ... my blood boils, and I feel anxious and...," she trailed off and shook her head against her palm. "And I want to strike first because I can't help but think they're both coming for me."

"Things are different here," pressed Pyrrha. "People are different once you get them away from that sort of toxic environment. Believe me, I know how that used to work from my times being feted as the Vytal tournament champion." She glanced over at where the heiress stood, looking nervously out the window at the courtyard far below as she waited for her dark-haired partner. "And she's been changing a lot as well. Ruby has been a good partner for her."

"It's true," interrupted Blake from behind Melanie, who startled. "I'd definitely vouch for the influence Ruby is having on Weiss."

"Holy...! Man, you are quiet," complained Melanie. "How good an influence could the girl who tried to murd-"

"Look, Melanie, for the last time!" barked Jaune, frustrated. "Ruby did not try to kill your sister. There was a fight, and an accident happened. I know it's your sister, but that doesn't stop it being an accident."

Melanie ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "I know. Okay, fine, I'm in the wrong here," she admitted. "So, mediation it is. As soon as Miltiades is out of the infirmary, we'll have our meeting."

"And you'll cut out your half of the barbs?" asked Jaune.

"As long as you get those two to cut out their half," contended Melanie. "If that happens ... well, we'll draw a line through this, and then we'll see how things go."

Jaune turned to Blake. "Yang listens to you these days, doesn't she?" he asked uncertainly.

That got a chuckle out of Blake, who waggled her hand in a so-so gesture. "I suppose she listens to me, as much as she listens to anyone. Yang tends to go her own way, you know."

"Good, then Blake can work on making sure Yang doesn't wreak havoc, and Ruby can keep Weiss from...," he trailed off and gulped.

"Ruby can keep me from what?" asked Weiss as she walked up to the discussion, eyes narrowed with suspicion. In her wake, Yang followed, moving with the sort of broad-hipped, predatory sway that was the envy of every girl in the room.

"Oh, hey there, snow angel," said Jaune as confidently as he could, whilst just below the surface panic consumed him. Pyrrha gave him a sharp nudge to the ribs. "A-ow! Pyrrha!" he complained.

Pyrrha shook her head. "Never mind him, Weiss, we're just suggesting that Blake and Ruby can help keep the peace on your team's end, that's all," she explained with a smile. The smile slowly died as Weiss stared at her in a silence that stretched on for several seconds.

"Right," said Weiss finally in a desiccated tone.

Before anyone could say anything further, however, the door to the headmaster's office opened.

"Ah, Ruby!" cried out Yang as she saw her sister. "He didn't eat you! I was starting to get worried."

Ruby Rose walked out in a daze, clearly deep in thought and a million miles away. Her hands were on her slender waist as she walked along, angled absently towards the wall. Her black dress was now stained with a series of dark burgundy patches, and her arms and legs still had patches of blood, dirt and grime. For a moment she looked like a lost little girl, a war refugee in need of solace.

"Ruby?" asked Yang in surprise as she stopped short of her sister. "Are you okay?"

Abruptly, Ruby forced a fist with her right hand and pounded it into her other palm. "Right!" she exclaimed, before turning to point at Melanie Malachite. "Melanie! Jaune! Brace yourselves, because our teams are going to be the best class in the entire first year!"

There was stunned silence across the room at the unexpected proclamation. Weiss and Blake exchanged uncomprehending glances, while Melanie stared back at Ruby with her mouth ajar. However, Pyrrha grabbed hold of Jaune's arm and gave him an excited grin. If they had buy-in from Melanie, and Ruby had been fired up by the headmaster's talk, then surely they could make this work.

Glynda Goodwitch looked on from where she sat along the side of the room, ostensibly marking papers as she waited for Ozpin. In truth she had been eavesdropping to try to get to the bottom of the unexpectedly violent confrontation that had landed in her lap. Her nerves strained as she heard Ruby's resolve; she didn't find the idea of Miss Rose chasing the limits of her powers to be very comforting at all.

Of all of them, the first verbal response came from Nora Valkyrie, who gave a triumphant whoop that so startled Lie Ren he actually tripped and fell backwards. Magnhild sprang forth in hammer mode and her team mates watched on in horrified awe as she played air guitar with the weapon.

"Ohhh, I love it, you're so cute when you're all determined like that," declared Yang, going in for the crushing bear hug.

Ruby held up her hands to ward off the potentially lethal embrace. "No Yang, no! Blood! You'll get blood on you!"

"Wha...?" asked Yang in surprise. "Oh!" she said looking over the turgid state of Ruby's clothes. She made a very over the top grimace as she glanced back at her teammates. "Eugh... Okay, back to the dorm, these are filthy."

Jaune glanced at Melanie. "Let's go with her, we'll get Ruby on board for the meeting, and then sort out a time."

Melanie sighed deeply. "Alright, fine," she agreed. "Let's go for a walk with the girl still soggy with my sister's blood." Pyrrha made a strangled protesting noise and threw her hands in the air.

"Ruby, got a moment," asked Jaune.

"Come on, places to be, so say it walking, Casanova," teased Yang as she pushed her sister along.

Jaune shot Yang a grumpy look, but didn't dare complain aloud. "Uh, okay. Ruby, since there seems to be a few itty bitty problems to iron out between your team and Melanie's team, we'd like to get everyone together and try and … well, try and reach a common ground!"

"Which we?" asked Ruby with a smile.

"My team, of course," explained Jaune. "Pyrrha, Nora, Ren and myself. We'll keep the peace and try to work things out. Hopefully, if everyone actually wants this to work, we'll … uh, well, we'll not nearly lop each other's limbs off again."

"I like that part," noted Melanie dryly.

Ruby gave Jaune a surprised, bright-eyed look. "Wow, Jaune, taking your responsibilities seriously today!"

Jaune rubbed the back of his head as he looked away with embarrassment. "Ah, well, you heard what Glynda said back there. I've got to do my part."

"That's the spirit," encouraged Ruby with a big cheesy grin.

Melanie put a hand over her mouth and stage whispered. "Careful, Pyrrha will think you're cutting in on her," she teased, getting a sharp look from both the red-headed girl and the black-and-red clad girl.

"That's not really a concern," replied Ruby sotto voce.

Jaune was about to protest when Pyrrha took his arm and leaned up against him, shooting each of the other girls a dark look. She knew it was a juvenile reaction, but after the day she'd been having, she really didn't care.

"W-well, anyway, that's my plan," finished Jaune. "What do you think?"

Ruby hesitated, wanting to echo Jaune's enthusiasm for the project. She glanced back at Melanie, who gave her a shrug in reply. "Yeah, it could help," said Ruby finally. "I don't really have a plan for getting us a beyond all this infighting except, y'know, apply for all the hardest field tests and bond through beating up the biggest and ugliest Grimm we can find."

"How does that even begin to be a plan?" asked Melanie in alarm.

"It worked for our two teams," commented Yang with a grin. "Camaraderie forged under the screaming feather barbs and snapping claws of big nasty Grimm!"

For several seconds Melanie stared at the ferocious blonde girl, alarm written clearly across her expression. She turned to Jaune and nervously said, "I like your idea Jaune, let's go with that one first."

* * *

><p>"Dorm sweet dorm," announced Yang with a groan as the team piled into their room. "Rubes, get out of those bloody clothes and hit the shower. One of us will run it to the cleaning service while you shower."<p>

"Yeah, thanks," said Ruby as she went through her personal effects and pulled out her maintenance kit for Crescent Rose and then walked into the bathroom.

"Come on, Ruby," complained Blake. "You take long showers as it is, and we're all dirty from that mission.

"It'll be alright, Blake," reassured Yang with a frown, taking a step closer to her sister, concerned about anyone arguing with the girl after her intense day.

"But we won't be clean for an hour," added Weiss irritably.

"Sorry guys, but it's been an hour since the fight," pointed out Ruby. "I really, really need to get this blood off of the scythe or it's going to be corroded and pitted all over." She sighed and stepped out of the bathroom to look at Blake and Weiss. "I'm going to level with you girls. This isn't my first training accident and not the first time I've gotten my steel bloodied, and it's a real problem."

The girl paused with her lips ajar, nervous about what to admit to. Finally she blurted out, "Look, I'm sure you guys have never had to deal with blood on your blades, because I'm sure you're all perfectly careful in practice, but I have," she admitted, just a little plaintively. "I need to clean this, and the bathroom is the only place that won't make a mess."

Both Weiss and Blake went very still, and very quiet, and their hands slid self-consciously to their weapons.

"Yeah, I've had my share of accidents," said Blake quietly. "I know what you mean. Take your time I guess."

Weiss exhaled sharply. "Just get out of those clothes first," she said. "I'll run them down for you myself."

The younger girl sighed with relief, then straightened and turned a heartfelt smile on her partner. "Aww, thank you, Weiss," she said brightly.

"I told you, best teammate ever," replied Weiss dryly.

Yang went over to her sister and put a hand on a patch of clothing that didn't seem to be bloodstained. "You okay, sis?"

Ruby gave her protective big sister a calm look and nodded. "It's alright. Just gotta get cleaned up. Make a mess, clean it up." She sighed and shrugged. "I bet dad would be pleased to finally hear that from me."

Their leader disappeared back behind the bathroom door and they heard rustling cloth and clasps snapping free. After a moment the door opened and her arm reappeared, holding out her black and red dress. When Weiss took it from her, Ruby's head peeked around the door and her hand seized Weiss' wrist, drawing a startled yelp from the heiress.

"Out in the field, you mentioned spiced hot chocolates and cookies, Weiss," reminded the young team leader. "After having my head bitten off by Ms Goodwitch, spiced hot chocolates and cookies sounds really good to me."

Weiss gave Ruby an exasperated look. "I haven't forgotten, Ruby. It'll be Ginger's Sister on Marigold St, in the city centre. Just as soon as we're all washed and dressed, then we'll catch the airship.

"Uh, Ruby, do you have any other casual clothes to wear for going to the city?" asked Yang. "Beacon doesn't like their students wearing uniforms in Vale outside of school excursions."

"Yeah, I'm fine," reassured Ruby. "I've got a couple t-shirts and things stuffed away. Bit old, but they'll still fit. I think."

"Well, if you say so, sis," replied Yang with a shrug.

* * *

><p>"You said that a dozen times already, sis," groaned Ruby as she watched the ground pass along far below. The observation deck of the airship offered beautiful views and she always insisted upon enjoying the trip from that vantage point. With the waning afternoon sun it was especially picturesque. For Ruby, it was always a peaceful and refreshing experience. Of course, the benefits of the view were largely lost as Yang continued to freak out behind her.<p>

"And I'll say it again, we have got to get you new clothes," urged Yang. "I remember that shirt now; you bought it when you were twelve, Rubes."

"Are you telling me it's childish?" complained Ruby, with a frown. The cartoon referenced on the red t-shirt was a little juvenile, she supposed. But it wasn't that bad, surely?

"N-no, childish really isn't what comes to mind," said Weiss diplomatically as she sat down next to Ruby as the leader returned to the half-disassembled Crescent Rose in her lap. "You're growing, Ruby, and what was fine three years ago now looks like something your sister would wear."

"Yeah, that's what I…," began Yang, before she stopped and whirled to face Weiss. "Hey! What are you trying to say!?" she complained, shaking a fist at the heiress.

Blake laughed and put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Look, Ruby, the effect is pretty provocative, but probably a bit too adult for your purposes. Particularly if we're just going for coffee, not clubbing."

"Besides, a year and a half is a long time to go without doing any changing of your wardrobe," added Weiss with an exasperated frown.

Ruby blushed as she as she tried to catch a look at herself in the mirror. "Well, it hasn't been as easy as that. My weapon's running costs are huge. These blade pieces are laser sharpened, that costs two hundred Lien each and I wear them down faster than you think. Two hundred to sharpen, mind you, it's two thousand to replace. Every round fired with a battle load of red Dust is ten Lien; I went through twenty today, and that was in a quick fight. I have to clean and regrease the moving parts weekly, or after every fight it gets dirty in. That's another three-hundred Lien in costs. And god forbid something happen to any of the motors. The principal barrel-crossbeam mechanism alone costs twenty-five thousand and not a half-lien less." She fell silent as she finally caught a good angle of her reflection in the window. "Oh, rats, I guess those are starting to look like hot pants, aren't they," she muttered in dismay.

The other three girls looked at her silently, tallying sums in their head. "Grimm and Dust, sis, how have you possibly afforded that weapon?" asked Yang in mild horror, looking at Crescent Rose with a sudden appreciation for why Ruby handled it like royalty.

"Well, being able to raid Uncle Qrow's stockpile for second-hand parts always helped," said Ruby as she settled back down. "But part of it was, well, forgoing buying anything else. Free canteen meals at every chance, or eating at home or with Uncle Qrow. And, well, as you can see, not buying clothes for a year or two at a time." Ruby bit the inside of her cheek anxiously, hoping that no one pushed her on the sums. "Battle dress and Crescent Rose is all I've spent my money on for years now."

She needn't have worried, though. Yang accepted the answer with a heaving sigh. "Look, your scythe has gotten us out of a lot of jams and depending on how much dust Weiss goes through, is probably the most expensive of all of our weapons…"

"Definitely the most expensive; Myrtenaster is actually pretty frugal, these dust reserves will last for a long time," explained Weiss as she eyed Ruby.

"Okay, thanks," said Yang. "So, you have to pay more than any of us just to keep your weapon afloat, so let us help you out on the clothes thing."

"Actually, let me," interrupted Weiss as she sat down next to Ruby, crossing her legs daintily as she settled onto the bench. "I'm your partner, so I benefit the most of us three from the scythe. And … I hate how this sounds, but … really, the Lien isn't any kind of big deal for me." She made a shifty look over Ruby's shoulder to where Vale was starting to spread out beneath them. "And it'd be worth the Lien to me just to avoid the rumours that would start from being seen walking around with a younger, pretty girl in hotpants."

Ruby blushed completely scarlet and looked away. Yang exploded into a fit that was one part laughter, one part outraged coughing, whilst Blake just rolled her eyes and settled back to read her book.

"Okay, it's settled, the moment we land, you're mine," declared Weiss as she pointed at Ruby.

* * *

><p>"Alright, ladies, what have we learned today?" asked Melanie as her two ambulant team members joined her table at an on-campus restaurant. "Aside from the fact Weiss is an arch-bitch, Ruby is a blood-lusting berserker, Yang is an asshole and Blake … did we learn anything about Blake today?" She glanced at Velvet, who kept her face studiously blank. "Nope? Okay, alright, Blake is cool."<p>

"So, one out of four, it's a starting point, I guess?" drawled Aurea as she pushed coffee in take-away cups across the table to her teammates.

"Right," said Melanie grimly.

"Glynda basically implied we're going to sink or swim in this group. So, as much as I hate to say this, for now, we do need to try and make nice."

"Why only for now?" asked Velvet in dismay. "There's a lot of school left ahead of us, you know. We may as well try and make friends."

"Because, good friend Velvet," said Melanie in a playful tone with an unhealthy dollop of menace stirred in. "Me, Miltia and Aurea know three of those girls and I have a great big dirty suspicion that they will sabotage themselves and get themselves kicked out of Beacon or worse. Or, alternatively, we might come upon some evidence that could get them kicked out."

"What are you talking about, evidence of what?" complained Velvet.

Melanie glanced at her faunus team mate and gave her a sickly sweet smile. "Those girls have each done some very naughty things, that I think Beacon would be horrified to find out about, and if I ever get the proof of it, I could take it to Ozpin and that jerk Glynda, and get them out of my hair."

"What could they possibly have done that is so bad?" asked Velvet with a confused frown.

"Nope, won't say," declined Melanie. "If we get overheard, I get nailed for spreading rumours. But trust me, they are bad news. Miltia told me already that's not the first time she's seen Ruby break that shot out, and she's apparently healthier than the poor schmuck on the receiving end of the last one."

Velvet shot Melanie a disbelieving look. "Oh come on. Then go to the Police about it, they can investigate things," said Velvet.

"Are you kidding me?" intruded Aurea. "What, the Vale City Police? You do know what those guys are like, right?"

"Well, they're not angels, I know that," said Velvet defensively. "Especially not to the faunus."

"Yeah, well, they don't like faunus, they don't like criminals and they don't want to touch anything related to Hunters," explained Aurea. "Trust me, I knew a couple in my time. All criminal case tags get an acronym written after them apparently when they involve criminals as both vic and perp." She reached onto the table and used a finger to sketch out the letters. "FCA and NFCA."

"Yeah, yeah, 'Faunus Crime Associations' and 'Non-Faunus Crime Associations'," said Velvet darkly. "I've been around the faunus rights movement my whole life, guys, I know the crooked stuff that goes on with faunus and the cops."

"You got the first half right," disputed Aurea. "Second half, if you wear blue, apparently stands for 'Not Fucking Cared About', or words to that effect. They'll investigate Faunus crime just to find ways to lock up their furry friends," she explained. "But they just don't care if a baddie offs a baddie. For them it's a good result with less paperwork. And now that those three are at Beacon, they really won't want to know about it."

"So what are you actually trying to say?" asked Velvet with her arms folded across her chest, deeply unimpressed. "What have they actually done?

"We're not saying a thing," denied Melanie. "Well, not on Beacon's grounds anyway, ask me whenever we get a chance to head back to Vale. Or, if you're around the FRM, ask some of your buddies about the rumours around Weiss Schnee. Most of them are probably bull, but when there's that much smoke, there's fire somewhere."

"Weiss is my age, none of these girls could have gotten up to that much surely?" denied Velvet.

Both of the other girls just looked at her from over their coffees.

* * *

><p>"Ahh, Miss Schnee!" crooned a middle aged fashionista as she saw the decadently rich girl walk into her store. "So good to see you again, you are always welcome here, of course."<p>

"Good afternoon, Marieke," greeted Weiss.

"Good afternoon to you, too," replied the proprietor. The woman noticed a sheepish Ruby step out from behind the silvered girl. "Oh, and a friend today?" she asked with a perplexed tone.

"Yes," confirmed Weiss with her voice steadfast and confident. If sShe knew that if she acted embarrassed, the staff would believe she had reason to be embarrassed. But if she acted with confidence, then there would be much less gossip. "This is my team leader at Beacon, Ruby," she introduced. "Unfortunately, Huntress training is really hard on clothes, and we need a tide-over outfit in a hurry. Your boutique has always been good to me, so I came here first to see if you could help."

"Absolutely, Miss Schnee," promised Marieke. "Oh dear, it's hard enough to stay on top of trends without having to fight in them as well. Well, we'll set you up, not to worry."

"Tell me about it," grumbled Weiss, looking at her own outfit.

Ruby was pulled into the store and surrounded by a storm of activity as Marieke and her assistants brought out this garment and that accessory and continually mixed things together. It took mere minutes, but to Ruby it felt like being bounced around the funnel of a tornado where every second seemed to last an hour. But it came to an end eventually, with Ruby being handed a small array of clothing and shoved into a fitting booth.

The first thing she did upon entering the little room was shut and lock the door, then drop herself onto the bench like a sack of potatoes. She looked between the door and the clothes in her hands in bewilderment.

"You alright in there, Ruby?" called Weiss as she leaned back against the outside of the door.

"Y-yeah, fine," replied Ruby shakily.

"Sorry, I know I was pretty pushy; I kind of get into my element in a shop like this."

"It's alright," said Ruby softly as she began to look through the garments that had been picked out for her. There were two outfits: one a relaxed mini-dress in grey fading into red with a broad black belt; the other a snow-white spaghetti-string top with a red pleated skirt with a high-waist that used the same broad belt. Her partner had already mentioned that the larger belt was to have something sturdy enough to handle Crescent Rose's weight. But as she looked at the spaghetti string top, she spotted a problem. "Uh, Weiss, I'm wearing a sports crop, I don't think thin straps are going to look right."

"Oh, damn, of course," muttered Weiss. "Just wait there for a moment. I've got your size from when Marieke measured you."

"What…?" Ruby looked at the door in horror. "Oh god, you can't be serious."

But Weiss was, as ever, entirely serious. There was a minute of silence as the other girl went through a quick hunt, and then a very plain looking white garment was tossed over the fitting room door with a quick call of 'catch', a command which Ruby managed on reflex.

"This is the most embarrassing moment of my entire life," lamented Ruby with her head in her hands, holding the thin-strapped undergarment.

"Oh come on, Ruby," complained Weiss before she joked, "Knowing you, Yang probably bought all of yours before now, anyways. No difference."

"Yes, but Yang isn't… oooh…," said the girl as she stumbled over her words, descending into an irritated groan. Ruby whispered to herself in frustration, "She jests at scars that never felt the wound." She sighed again, then said loud enough to hear, "Don't worry, I'm trying it all on."

"Dress first," prodded Weiss.

She had to admit, putting on casual clothes that actually fit was an enormous relief. Her combat skirt was about five times the weight of this dress, because that multi-layer dress actually incorporated a few layers of protection, and the fabric itself was … not exactly soft cotton. It was a dress that had become comfortable purely through becoming inured to the hardship of it. When the soft fabric of the dress slid on down, she blinked in surprise at how good it felt.

"No itch, no scratch, no pinch, wow, this feels like silk," breathed Ruby in delight.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the door. 'That's because it is silk, dummy," she thought to herself with a wry grin. "Ruby, I've been doing the sums in my head and I was curious. How _did_ you cover your weapon's bills?"

Ruby paused mid-way through fastening the belt about her slender waist, and looked up at the door in alarm. "We already went over that."

"Did we?" asked Weiss airily. "You know, I've quite the head for economics. I was doing sums and looking up little data pieces on my scroll for the rest of that flight. With the government assistance, academy stipends and other income sources, there is absolutely no way you could have afforded Crescent Rose's bills. I'm sure of it. In fact, you could have worked a full-time day job and still not afforded it."

"I had a lot of second hand parts and did a bunch of odd jobs…," began Ruby nervously as she smoothed the fabric down.

Weiss made a strangled noise of disgust at the idea such answers could turn her aside. "Ruby, I've just been watching you break down and reassemble your scythe. How many of those motors were second hand beat-ups? Every last one was pristine. Your average day labourer makes about a thousand Lien a day, so those motors alone would have set you back half an adult's annual salary."

"I … Weiss, it…," stammered Ruby. She stepped back from the door in alarm.

"Don't sound so nervous," said Weiss in quiet concern. "I don't want to get you in trouble. You know I wouldn't do that right? I'm just concerned for you. If you've gotten yourself into trouble, I'm here for you."

Ruby bit at the back of her hand to help steel herself, then straightened out and walked out of the fitting room. Weiss' eyes lit up like a lighthouse at dusk, rising out of her seat with pride written all over her features.

"Magnificent," breathed Weiss Schnee. She looked down at her hands and in an awe-tinged whisper said, "I have a gift."

The younger girl was taken aback. "W-Weiss!?"

The white-haired girl snapped out of it and looked back at her friend with a smile. "It looks great on you," praised Weiss. "But then, it's no surprise. If you can look pretty in combat gear, it's easy to look pretty in normal clothes. Makes my job simple, really."

The scythe-wielder planted her hands on her hips to fix Weiss with a look. It was hard to keep her focus when she wanted to break out into blushes and rush back into the fitting room. "You shouldn't be so free with the compliments, Weiss, I might think you're making a pass," she said dryly.

"Ruby!" admonished Weiss, looking mortified. She took a moment and then glanced back, much more business-like in her demeanour. "So, what's the truth on Crescent Rose? Are you in trouble?"

The younger girl walked up to her partner and placed her hands on the petite heiress' shoulders. "Okay, I want you to know I really appreciate that you're concerned. But if you want to be the best teammate you can, you cannot ask me about this."

"I don't understand," said Weiss, suddenly flustered and on the back-foot.

Ruby swallowed audibly, but pushed on. "I paid my bills, and I didn't do anything that will cause the team trouble in the future, I promise, cross my heart, hope to die. But it's not something I want to talk about."

Weiss looked at her partner silently. Her face was unreadable as a number of emotions warred beneath the skin. After several long seconds she nodded. "Alright, Ruby. If you promise me, and you have to mean it, if you promise me that you'll tell us if anything becomes a problem in the future, even if it's just trouble for you alone, you'll come to us. And if you need money for Crescent Rose, or you need Dust or anything like that, please see me first."

The dark-haired girl looked away and let her hands slowly fall from Weiss' shoulders. She bit her lip and her eyes flicked up at Weiss. "Okay. I promise. If there's any trouble, which there won't be, I'll see you guys rather than try and lone wolf it." She hesitated before adding, "I'll come to you if I need help paying off big ticket things for sweetheart, but I'm not about to dump all my financial problems on you."

"Tch, you're being stubborn," declared Weiss, folding her arms.

Ruby smiled up at her partner, as warm and kind as a sunflower. "A girl has to have her independence you know," she explained.

Weiss looked skyward and sighed. "Okay, Ruby. The first part is the important bit, anyway," she emphasised. "If you're having problems and you don't share with us, you'll be hurting me, your sister and Blake. That's not doing the team thing, that's being selfish because you don't want the embarrassment of facing up."

"Hey, I already promised," complained Ruby, trying on her best puppy-eyes pout. "It's not going to be an issue anyway," she dismissed airily as she walked back to the fitting room. "Okay, one outfit down, another to go."

"Well, since this one was a success," declared Weiss, "That one should work wonders as well."

As Ruby closed the fitting room door behind her, she paused and bit her lip again, looking back at the door that she knew Weiss was just on the other side of. She had something she had been meaning to ask for a while now, and this was as good a time as any to try.

"Hey, Weiss," she said, trying to sound confident, though her voice wavered. 'Come on, you idiot,' she berated herself silently. 'Even Jaune can turn on the confidence when he needs.'

"Need something, Ruby?" asked Weiss.

"You know how you said you weren't happy with your athleticism now that you're at Beacon?" asked Ruby as she laid out the other outfit on the bench in the room.

"When did I say that?" asked Weiss indignantly, feeling a professional affront.

"Ahh!" cried Ruby. She clamped down hard on her nerves. "T-Two weeks ago! Remember…? There was a sparring class…"

"Oh … yeah, I remember," sighed Weiss. "My fitness was fine for what I was doing before joining Beacon, but everyone here is just as fast, and if there's one thing I hate, it's being average."

That was just the answer Ruby wanted to hear. "Well, I was thinking, my morning training sessions has a lot of fitness and strength work. I do running, kettlebells, things like that. Uh, I push myself pretty hard though, so fair warning."

Laughter came through the door and Ruby felt her stomach fold in on itself, until Weiss' voice piped up. "That sounds like fun. I think I'll take you up on that."

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think she's going to come out with?" asked Blake without looking up from her book as she sat upon a bench.<p>

"Knowing Ruby?" replied Yang. She was standing with her arms folded, watching the doors of the boutique that Weiss had dragged Ruby inside of half an hour prior. "I couldn't even imagine. Something random. Something really, really random. Maybe an over-sized cardigan, club-wear, a Beowolf onesie?"

"I get the feeling they might not sell that sort of thing here," replied Blake with a smirk.

"Bah, I don't know," dismissed Yang as she waved an arm at the boutique. A stylish-looking young woman was crossing the street in front of her after having left the boutique, she had left by herself so Yang didn't pay her much mind. "My sister has many qualities, but fashion sense is not one of them. Maybe self-awareness is a problem too."

"Oh?" prompted Blake as she glanced up at the blonde brawler. She smiled a little at the antics of the excitable older sister.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah. 'I drink milk' to grow up, she tells me, but then she doesn't pay any attention to any signs of growing up. You know what I mean right?"

"Yes, Yang," humoured the student sitting alongside her.

"I mean, it's irresponsible to blow all of your Lien on clothes," allowed the big sister in full-blown over-protection mode. "But it's also irresponsible to be so stingy with your clothes that you're wearing skin-tight gear out of necessity not because you like the look." She paused awkwardly, noticing the stylish girl who had been crossing the road now staring at her in a distinctly unfriendly fashion.

"Excuse you, Yang," the girl said irritably. "I'm right here, you know."

"Whoa, Ruby!" gasped Yang as she realised it was actually her sister in the stylish dress. Blake looked up as well, and her eyes went wide as she beheld the result of Weiss' handiwork. "Hey-hey, looking good! Where's Weiss?"

Her little sister looked transformed now that she was wearing an outfit that didn't have combat damage or interwoven steel bands. Yang felt some discomfort at seeing her little sister looking like a young woman rather than the little brat she knew and loved. Now that she realised it was Ruby she also recognised the collapsed carry-form of Crescent Rose riding along at the small of the girl's back. A red scarf with pearly rose patterns along its length was wrapped around her neck to complete her ensemble.

"She sent me on ahead so she could settle the bill without me looking over her shoulder," explained Ruby as she looked at Yang sourly.

"You chose well," complimented Blake. "That looks good on you."

"Bah," said Ruby in a consummately unfashionable gesture. "Weiss picked it all out. I was just her walking clothes hanger."

Weiss joined the group, a bag bearing the boutique's mark in her hands. "So, do I know what I'm talking about or not, Yang? Oh, ye of little faith."

"I'll admit, I didn't think you could do it, but here she is," praised Yang. "A pretty little changeling."

"She still smells of gun grease though," muttered Weiss. "No perfume was going to cut through that."

"I smell fine, I was looking for something that fit, not looking to be a princess," complained Ruby. "But if we're all done here, I believe there's a spiced hot chocolate with my name on it."

"You know the way to Marigold St?" asked Weiss with an indulgent smile. Ruby gave her a nod in reply. "Well then lead on, team leader."

The four girls walked along congenially, moving in a tear-drop formation, with Ruby a few steps ahead, leading the way. She was enjoying the comfort of her new outfit, whilst her three teammates enjoyed gossiping about the change in her appearance from just out of ear-shot.

"Ha, it looks like a success from back here too," boasted Weiss smugly. When she caught the shocked looks Yang and Blake gave her, she blushed and shook her head. "Oh god, that sounded completely wrong."

The blonde girl tilted her head back and sighed. "She's going to get attention. I'm going to be punching boys all over the place," she lamented.

"You sound upset about it, but you're really looking forward to it, aren't you?" teased Blake. "Warning off boys, embarrassing your little sister to an inch of her life, things like that."

"Ah, the good things in life," said Yang with a toothy, wicked grin. She turned back to Weiss and her smile remained, but lost some of its wickedness. "I appreciate you doing this for my sister," she said honestly.

"Ah, you," waved off Weiss. "I've got an absurd credit line that I've hardly touched since I came to Beacon. If I don't use it sometime, Father will assume I don't need it, and take it away." She tore her eyes away from Ruby, who was blithely walking along. "I don't think I realised how determined Ruby is until I saw how many sacrifices she makes."

"Yeah, she throws everything into it."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, until the white-haired girl looked over at them. "Ruby invited me to join her morning training runs," remarked Weiss.

"Ha, seriously?" asked Yang in disbelief. "Well, that's new."

"Oh?"

Blake laughed, giving Yang an amused look. "You don't even get invited on those, Yang."

"Really?" asked Weiss in surprise. "Well, you're not her partner, so I guess it makes sense..."

Blake gave them both a smile. "It seems like it's a good idea to me, anyway. "It should help you out; I've seen Ruby training, and she's very serious about it. Just make sure you bring your A-game."

The girl under discussion walked back to rejoin her friends. "Come on guys," she urged. "It's just across the road and down the block a little."

Yang sighed with feeling. "Never get between Ruby and her chocolate," she warned the others as they picked up the pace.

* * *

><p>"I need to get something from the dorm, so I'll see you guys there," said Velvet as Melanie was about to lead them all to the cafeteria for dinner.<p>

"Yeah, sure, we'll order for you," replied Melanie.

Melanie and Aurea went about their way and Velvet nodded to herself and went back to the room they shared. Once she got home, she locked the door, closed the windows and pulled out her scroll. Steeling herself with a deep sigh, she sat on her bed and began to dial a number.

The scroll buzzed and buzzed, and just as Velvet was about to hang up, an older woman's voice chimed in on the other end.

"Scarletina Café, how can we help?"

Velvet smiled warmly and relaxed a little. "Hi Mom, it's Velvet."

"Oh, Velvet!" replied her mother happily. "It's good to hear from you, dear. How's class? Is that boy still bullying you...?"

"Good, Mom," answered Velvet. "And no, he's been quiet lately," she said, figuring it wasn't a lie since she was pretty sure the reassurances her team had given her would keep him away. The end of her teammate's remedial semblance classes had come not a minute too soon. "I think I've seen the last of him."

"That's wonderful! I was so angry that something like that could be happening at even Beacon," complained Velvet's mother.

"Hey, Mom, I had something I needed to ask Dad, is he around?" asked Velvet nervously.

Her mother was silent for several seconds, picking up on Velvet's nervousness. "Honey, is everything okay?"

"I think so," answered Velvet, trying not to sound anxious.

"Well, okay, hang on," answered her mother.

Velvet waited for a minute, before a man's voice came on the line. "Velvet, how can I help?" asked her father, all business as he took the phone.

"Hey, Dad," said Vevlet as she heard the man's comforting voice. "My team just had its partner teams changed up a little. We're no longer the big kids in the group," she began to explain, adding a little self-deprecatory laugh. "The other two teams are both really strong."

"Well, that sounds like an opportunity to me. Is everything okay?" asked her father.

"Not ... really," admitted Velvet. "There are two girls that I have concerns about on one of the teams. One of them is, uh, well, she's Weiss Schnee, the Schnee Dust Company heiress."

There was a long pause, ended by a deep, shuddering sigh. "I see," answered Velvet's father. "Well, that's a concern. Thanks for keeping that quiet, your mother would worry herself sick if she knew. You know how she feels about the SDC, after all."

"Yeah, I know," answered Velvet. "Dad, I know you have a lot of friends amongst the Rights Movement...," she began hesitantly.

"...yes, I certainly do, comes with being an organiser for a long time," said her father, alarmed at the question.

"Do you have many contacts in the ... well..."

"Just tell it to me straight, Velvet, what's going on," urged her father impatiently.

"There is a girl on the same team as Weiss, named Blake Belladonna. Everyone thinks she's a non-faunus, but today I was by myself with her in the field and I could smell that she was actually a Cat faunus."

Her father grunted on the phone. "So she's passing? Okay."

"Well, I complained about it. You know how I feel about that sort of thing, especially when I was getting bullied almost every lunchtime," continued Velvet. "But she, well, she said she had done a lot for the cause, but because of that she had enemies. I was wondering if you might be able to find out what sort of group she came from. I'm worried she might have been part of one the militant faunus groups, you know?"

"If you've got a picture, I can ask around for you," offered her father.

"Discreetly, if you could," said Velvet gratefully. "I don't want those jackass militants getting a foothold at Beacon, they're dragging human-faunus relations back to the dark ages, and half of them are just greedy thieves anyway." She paused, then added more quietly, "And if she's making a play for that Schnee girl, I could be close enough to be collateral to the SDC's response."

"We're on the same page, my girl. I'll do some very quiet asking around," promised her father. "She's not necessarily a militant because she has enemies though. Your mother and I ended up with a mountain of enemies from our work. A real pile of them."

"Yeah, I know," said Velvet a little softly, wondering if she was panicking over nothing. "I'll send you that picture. I don't have one of her with her ears though, she always wears a black bow over it. Her weapon is really unique, too. A Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe. That might help narrow it down?"

There was silence on the line for several seconds.

"Dad?" asked Velvet in concern. "Still there?"

"Look, be very careful around this Blake girl," said her father in an slow, distant voice. "That type of weapon is ... rare, but... Just be careful. Don't let anyone know you're checking up on her."

"Wait, what's wrong with that weapon?" asked Velvet anxiously, her voice rising.

"Nothing worth acting on at the moment, it just gives me a few leads. Look, Velvet, you may not hear back from me on this girl for a while. I need to take it slow, until I know more about her."

"Dad, what's with the weapon," pushed Velvet. "Just tell me, don't let me float around blind!"

"Keep in mind, there's nothing concrete in what I'm about to say. There are definitely other trainers and sources of that kind of weapon," stressed her dad. "But the VBCS is held in high regard by a lot of militant faunus groups, including some of the big and ugly ones. So keep your wits about you, and be careful with her. And that Schnee girl. No one enjoys coming to the attention of the SDC, especially if they have ears on top of their head."

"Thanks dad, I'll wait to hear back from you then," said Velvet quietly. "Give my love to Mom."

"Will do, Velvet. Watch yourself out there," replied her father gruffly.

Velvet hung up and fell back on her bed. "What a bastard of a day," she groaned to herself.

* * *

><p>"These are genius," whispered Ruby with girlish glee as she cupped her mug in her hands. "Liquid genius." She slurped loudly as she drank from the mug, revelling in it with the sort of honest intensity that adulthood seemed to strip away from a person.<p>

"I knew you'd like it," boasted Weiss as she sipped from her own little macchiato. "It seemed right up your alley."

The four girls had occupied a table in the most secluded booth they could find, a round table in the corner of the room, which they huddled closely around. They talked and gossiped and discussed class over their round of drinks as the sun began to sink low and afternoon began to edge into dusk. All four of them were relieved to be able to relax after the altogether stressful morning. Blake felt like she could have done with a shot of something in her mug, Weiss was dreaming of a glass of chardonnay and Yang had a craving for a beer, but they still enjoyed their coffees or hot chocolates, and Ruby was as happy as a pig in mud, so it all worked out.

"Looks like we all made it through the day okay," said Yang after a comfortable silence had fallen on the group. "Even you don't seem to have too many problems, Rubes."

"We all got really lucky," pointed out Weiss.

"I'm really sorry, guys," said Ruby quietly as she put down her mug. "I didn't think things through enough and caused us a lot of problems."

"Don't sweat it, sis," reassured Yang. "I didn't have a problem with it. Melanie's girls all needed a good crack to the head. To be honest, it was good to get it out of the way early."

"I think it set up some boundaries for team Maven not to cross," suggested Blake with a shrug. "I don't think they'll try playing us head-on again."

A waitress came by their table, all smiles and cheer. Short, petite and sporting dyed blue hair, she was cute and mid-way between Ruby and her teammates in age. "Hey guys, everyone enjoying their drinks over here?" she asked with a broad smile. She gave Ruby in particular a winsome grin and leaned close. "Anything I can get for you?"

Ruby smiled back at the waitress as she held her mug by her lips, almost hiding behind it. "I'm sure you could," she answered quietly, drawing a surprised looks from her teammates. "But I bet it would be bad for me, so I probably shouldn't."

"I suppose all the tastiest desserts are," answered the waitress with the hint of a purr in her voice.

"Uh, hey," interrupted Weiss, warily. "Actually, could we order the tasting plate? I wouldn't mind something to nibble." The waitress nodded and wrote the order down, then hesitated, glancing back at Ruby. "That'll be all, thanks!" dismissed Weiss as she noticed the glance. The waitress blanched and moved on quickly.

"Looks like it's not just guys I'll have to be warding away from you in that dress," quipped Yang.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ruby with a voice that wouldn't melt better. "Was that girl annoying you?"

Weiss sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "Oh Ruby…"

* * *

><p>Late that night the infirmary was silent and still. The doctors were abed and only the night-duty nurse would stalk the halls, once every half-hour, poking a head in each room as she ran her circuits. The lights were faint and faded, bar one bedside lamp in a room off in the corner of the infirmary. A girl stole quietly across the infirmary floor, timing her approach to arrive just after the passage of the nurse. The coast was clear, and the girl slipped up to the door. With a quick glance, she checked the name displayed on the door's scroll screen.<p>

'Malachite, Mi.'

She slipped within and gently shut the door behind her with a quiet 'snick'.

Miltiades Malachite had been resting upon the hospital bed, scroll in hand with ear-buds hooked up, listening to music. Sleep had been a problem, despite the exhaustion. It had been a weird day, and her sister had only just left her for the night. Truth be told, her sister's panicky mothering had gotten very old. She eventually settled down again, but Miltiades didn't like the fuss. She had been injured, she would recover soon. But for now, she was tired. But when the small figure entered her room, Miltiades' trained eyes spotted her straight away.

"Aww, fuck me," swore the injured girl, as she tugged the ear-buds free. "Here to finish the job?"

Ruby Rose smiled back at her, leaning back against the door, hands clasped behind her. "Nothing violent, I swear. Just the opposite, actually."

Miltiades smiled and bit her tongue. Ruby was surely too young to have to put up with Miltia making double-entendres. "Come on, Ruby, what are you doing out here?"

"I… Well, I guess I felt bad, once everything cooled down," admitted Ruby. "So I wanted to see how you were doing. Besides, I still want to find out what happened to my cape."

Miltiades gave her an odd look, not quite crediting the answer. "Your cape is on the cabinet in the corner. You're well outside public visiting hours, you know. Even Melanie got kicked out."

"Yes, I know," admitted Ruby as she glanced over to her cape. "But we only got back from Vale on the late airship. And I'm not Melanie's favourite person right now. I think she likes me even less than Weiss," she suggested with a grin.

"I promise you, there are people that Mel hates far, _far_ more than Weiss," said Miltiades with a sparkling laugh. "But none of them are here at Beacon. Even before she left, it was having to make nice with Weiss that she was complaining about, not you."

"Ah, the mediation meeting," said Ruby as she rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose it's a good idea." She walked over to a chair placed by the wall and carried to up to the edge of the hospital bed. "It's better than just letting our teams go until we find a reason to kill each other."

"We need a reason to try and kill each other now?" mused Miltiades. "Melanie said the Professor spent a long time talking to you after Glynda tore you all a new one. Do they know?"

"The faculty?" Ruby propped her chin up on her knee, with her foot on the chair and arms wrapped around her leg. "Ah, no, they don't. Just you, though even I don't know how," she admitted.

"You actually want to know how I knew about you and the manor?" asked Miltiades, who laid herself back comfortably in the big pillows. "Or are you still trying to decide if I need to be snuffed out?"

Ruby frowned and reached out to lay a hand on the wounded student's arm. "Would you calm down? I promise you, honestly, I'm not going to kill you."

The older girl smiled wryly. "Look at me, getting consoled by a girl who's been brought forward a whole two years." She pressed her lips thinly and looked Ruby's face over for signs of treachery. "Alright, fine. Melanie fit in well with the society bitches and jerks, but I just couldn't take that scene. That's just not me." She paused, then snorted a little laugh. "Does that surprise you? Me and my twin having such different tastes? Some of our differences are … rather fundamental."

"Not at all," answered the younger girl earnestly. "You're your own person, after all."

The reply earned Ruby a pleased look from the infirm girl. "Well, I handled the more low-class side of bodyguard work more easily. My claws fit in better as well, and I didn't get in people's faces like Mel tends to," explained Miltia. "Some of my clients liked to go along and watch. Security is tight inside, so when I was basically on break in there, I watched as well rather than bother leaving. And there you were. Even though you wore the mask, that scythe is unforgettable."

"So then you've seen…"

"Oh yes," said Miltiades. "I know what you are." She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "You showed up infrequently though. You could have made a mint if you kept at it regularly."

"I did make a mint, but almost all of it went to repairs, upkeep and supplies for Crescent Rose," explained Ruby. "That was the whole point of doing it. It paid my bills when nothing else could."

"Now that I've met you and talked to you, that actually makes perfect sense," mused Miltiades, settling back into her bed comfortably. "So you didn't enjoy it?"

"Ahh, well," stalled Ruby as she gave Miltiades a hooded gaze. "I might keep that to myself." She stopped and looked at the time. She needed to make her escape to be sure the nurse didn't catch her on the way back out. She glanced back at the other girl.

"So you really wanted to know if I was trying to kill you?" asked Ruby with a sad, faint smile. "Alright." She sat up and leaned over the hospital bed, gently placing a hand on Miltia's collar. She bent in intimately close, her body brushing against the older girl's hospital gown.

Miltia's eyes went wide at having her foe from earlier that day close enough to feel her warmth. "H-hey, Ruby, what are you doing...?" she asked in a moment of shock. But when the girl's lips were right by her ear, Ruby whispered an answer to her with her hand cupped so that no surveillance could hear or lip-read. With her message delivered, the younger girl straightened up and walked away.

Feeling far too passive at the girl's hands, Miltiades forced herself to sit up. "You're cute when you're trying to be a badass, you know," she blurted out, just to take initiative. She winced for a moment as she said it, embarrassed that that was the first thing she thought of.

Ruby turned around and smiled. "Have you met my sister? If I don't at least try, I just look like a gawky little brat next to her."

"But Ruby," drawled Miltiades, "You are a gawky little brat. Especially next to Yang." She paused and then added, "You just happen to also have a six-foot high heavy scythe."

Ruby turned and gave her a look, rolling her eyes at the barb. "Thanks for saving my cape, by the way," she said, holding up the red garment.

"Yeah, no problems," replied the older girl. "Thanks for not murdering me today," she added dryly.

Ruby reached the doorway, then stopped, turning around and putting her hands on her hips. "You could have said something other than gawky little brat!" she complained.

"Ruby, you look like the Grim Reaper took you along for 'bring your daughter to work' day," laughed Miltia.

"Ooh, you!" complained Ruby exasperatedly with her silver eyes large as full moons. She waved her hand dismissively at the recovering girl. Taking up her cloak, she whipped the garment around her shoulders with a flourish. Ruby disappeared out the door and Miltiades laid herself back down in the hospital bed. But sleep didn't come easily that night as she rubbed the spot on her collar where Ruby's hand had rested, and continuously threw nervous glances at the door.

'_You pretend to be naïve in how you move, Ruby, but you don't fool me,_' thought Miltiades heatedly.


	4. Cold Morning Air

**A/N: As a general rule, I am not big on OCs; actually, I usually dislike the stuffing out of them. However, with the third team, and Cardin's boys out of the way, I've had to dabble in that black art a little. To compensate for that, I have tried to stick to the original Rooster Teeth formulation of character design being influenced by myth, legend, folklore or the like. Aurea, for instance, draws her surname, weapon names, and semblance from Sleeping Beauty and associated materials.**

**Back to your regularly scheduled programming…**

"I really think that we should be dressing a bit warmer," complained Weiss Schnee as she rubbed her bare arms. She stood alongside Ruby Rose in the pre-dawn morning, on the paved skirting of an obscure outbuilding on the Beacon campus. The Vale grasslands spread out around them, fields of dark shadows that shimmered in the reflected moonlight with the gentle early breeze.

At Ruby's prompting the Schnee heiress had come out clad in an all-white ensemble of crop top and compression tights and the breeze was raising goosebumps. Finally she gave up and tapped a little of her aura for warmth. Relief in the form of a tide of body heat flowed through her elegant limbs. Weiss sighed blissfully as the chill disappeared.

The younger girl was re-tying the laces on her running shoes as she hummed a cartoon theme to herself. She had come dressed in a loose black tank, sports bra and red shorts and if the cold bothered her in the least, it didn't show visibly. As she heard Weiss complain, she laughed brightly and winked up at her partner.

"Don't worry about the cold, Weiss," she said nonchalantly. "I promise you, in a few minutes, you won't feel it."

Ruby stood up and walked around Weiss and began to check the over the shoulder harness Myrtenaster was now attached to. A few tightened straps and clips later and the girl made a pleased trill and nodded.

"I still can't believe you intend to run with Crescent Rose on your back, it must weigh a tonne," marvelled Weiss. When she saw Ruby open her mouth to explain for the fifth time, she threw up her hands and waved. "No, no, don't tell me again. I know, builds strength and keeps you accustomed to the added weight when running in battle."

"Exactly, partner! Running, weapon drills and milk are what the growing body needs," added Ruby with a nod. "Oh, I'm so glad we're already on the same page. Okay, honesty time. What's your five-k time?"

"I can do five kilometres in about twenty-five minutes," answered Weiss with a carefully concealed pride.

"Wow, that's really good," praised Ruby earnestly. "So this should go pretty well."

"Crescent Rose will slow you down a bit, but I'll make sure I don't get ahead of you," promised Weiss with an understanding nod. Ruby burst out into laughter, confusing Weiss no end. "Wh-what? Ruby, stop laughing!"

"Oh, that's a good one," said Ruby. "You're so serious most of the time, but you can be a kidder, too." Weiss gave her a venomous, flat look that went unnoticed. "Okay, my circuit around Beacon is four kilometres, we'll do that twice. First three k' as a jog, then the next five at a run. I take about twenty minutes for each part, so we'll be a bit slower, but that's okay, we're starting a bit earlier."

Weiss' irritation swiftly turned to stunned disbelief. "Twenty minutes," she repeated numbly. "With _that_ on your back?"

Ruby grinned and smacked the side of her thigh, getting barely a ripple and showing her leg to be all toned, lean muscle. "My semblance is speed to begin with, partner, so I'm just working to my strengths." She waved Weiss forward onto the course. "Let's go."

"Wha-, hey, wait up!"

Weiss fell into a jog alongside her dark-haired teammate as they began to make their way across the lamp-lit paving stones. Ruby had been right, it didn't take long to warm up and forget the cold as they silently passed through the pre-dawn air.

They travelled down the sides of classrooms, of faculty blocks. They passed the great auditorium's curtain wall. Sometimes they were shielded from the wind; sometimes it whistled and howled through gaps in fences. At the end of the curtain wall someone had scrawled a '1.0km' in red chalk. Ruby pointed to it as they passed.

"Distance markers," explained Ruby with a grin. "If the staff notice them, I'll probably get in trouble, but they're pretty out of the way."

"I don't think they'd mind," reassured Weiss.

They moved onto grass, taking a long route around a fenced off field that contained many cages; the Grimm pens that were kept so examples of real Grimm could be introduced into classrooms. The peaceful silence of the jog became interrupted by the muffled howls and hisses of captive Grimm, who prowled and pawed and paced within their pens. The disturbance discomfited Weiss, so she turned to Ruby and broke the silence.

"So this is where you've been spending your early mornings?" she asked loudly, to drown out the wails of the Grimm.

"Yeah. It's peaceful, you know," explained Ruby. "I can get a lot done. There's no distractions, just fresh air, me and sweetheart." She gave her weapon's case a doting pat without breaking stride. "Even at Signal I ran a course like this, although it wasn't half as good. And during the last year there, well, I was getting pestered a bit, so that was a hassle."

"Pestered?" asked Weiss in surprise. "You mean like bullied?"

Ruby flashed her a smile that Weiss could only describe as radiant, the sort of honest expression that only the silver-eyed pocket rocket could produce. "No, just a bit of attention. I was popular among the girls of the school towards the end and my route went by the girl's dorm in the morning."

"Just the girls? No luck with the boys?" asked Weiss with a laugh. "Ah, you poor dear, that seems very strange. Signal Academy boys must have no taste."

"I preferred it that way, you know," refuted Ruby with a frown, a grating tone in her voice.

"Not interested yet? Well, still plenty of time for you," said Weiss. But the white-haired girl blinked in surprise when Ruby shot her a hooded, unreadable look. They carried on in silence for a minute, until the rounded a corner and she heard a young Nevermore's call and shivered. "S-say," she began, calling to mind all the bad memories of twice flying along on the black bird's kin. "Where did you disappear to last night after we got back? None of us knew where you went."

"Oh, just following up on something," answered Ruby evasively. Weiss rolled her hands over in a 'please continue' gesture. Ruby frowned uncomfortably, and admitted in an awkward tone, "I went to Miltiades at the infirmary."

"Miltiades!?" echoed Weiss in surprise.

"That's the two kilometre mark," noted Ruby absently, looking to distract her partner.

"Ruby...," huffed the heiress dryly.

"Ah, look, I know accidents happen in a fight, but I escalated the fight, so I felt guilty," sighed Ruby. "I wanted to see how she was doing." Her eyes flicked across and she added quietly, "Plus she still had my cape."

Weiss frowned at that. "Hmph. Well, how was she?"

"Well, ah, surprised to see me!" laughed Ruby. "Worried I was there to 'finish the job' at first, silly thing. She was a little bit of a jerk, but I guess I did ... uh, well, you know."

"You'll want to be careful with her, you know," said the older girl hesitantly as they returned to the paving around the campus proper. "There's a few rumours about Miltia and the way she swings. A little birdy mentioned to me she is _rather_ friendly with a girl from her remedial class; Alice Sgathan."

A nervous jolt went through Ruby's system and she nearly stumbled, but she recovered smoothly enough to go unnoticed. It wasn't the subject of the gossip that worried Ruby. Rather it was the idea that Weiss thought the gossip worthy of a warning that concerned Ruby. It wasn't the sort of outlook she had hoped to hear from her partner. She kept her eyes rigidly forward. "Oh really?" she said after a few seconds. "Well, even if the rumours are true, I'm not sure that warrants being _careful_, you know."

"You're not surprised at all," noted Weiss as she gauged her partner. That was unexpected, as Weiss had only just heard the gossip, and she was resourceful enough that normally she was first to hear such rumours.

"I've sorta suspected she might be. You know, I'm way more observant than Yang tells people I am," explained Ruby with a gentle grin. When that earned an odd look from Weiss the younger girl shrugged. "A fair few of the friends I left at Signal swung that way so I started to pick up on different cues."

"Ah, well I guess you'd know a bit about it, then," answered the older girl with a shrug.

"Oh, you have no idea," mused Ruby under her breath as she looked off over the dark sea of the grasslands.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"I suppose 'careful' is the wrong word," admitted Weiss.

"Then what did you mean?" asked Ruby, glancing over with a frown.

That got a grimace out of Weiss. "It's not because I heard she's into girls, but because I worry that she's a mendacious little weasel who already has reason to dislike you, and us, and may try to take her revenge by playing heartbreaker since she can't do it by strength. I know the type." She huffed prissily and added, "You may be our team leader, but you're younger than us and it's our job to protect you!"

"Wait, so she doesn't like me, yet she'll want to try to seduce me, do I have that right?" asked Ruby in as droll a voice as she could manage.

"You'll understand what I mean in a couple years, so just be careful with her, would you?" asked Weiss with an exasperated sigh.

The silver-eyed girl glanced over at Weiss and frowned. "You know, Weiss, you have a bad habit of assuming the worst of people." Weiss didn't say anything as a bashful look came over her. "Is it because of her sister? You only knew Melanie from what I recall, and she … well, you both hate the stuffing out of each other. But from talking to both of you … was it your fault, Weiss?"

A rebuke came easily to the older girl's lips, but she hesitated. Alone with Ruby on a cold morning, feet pounding the grass, the reflexive defensive attitude seemed so wrong. Weiss was silent for several paces, glancing over at her running partner. A distant look came over her and she slowed to a walk, earning her an admonishing 'Weiss!', but the complaint didn't really register. The cold wind blew across the open field and light shimmered off the rippling grasslands, dancing in her eyes as she watched. Looking away from Beacon out over the open spaces, she entertained a moment wherein she and Ruby were the only people on Remnant. An urge to be honest under the mix of lamp and moonlight bubbled up inside.

"I suppose I've never given her a reason to like me, and maybe a lot of reasons for the opposite," she said at last. Dawn was still distant but to the western horizon the first subtle glow kissed the dark earth. She shrugged and tried to explain further, "I have a lot of bad influences when I'm off in that scene. It's hard to act the way I want to."

Weiss started to jog again, catching Ruby on the hop. "H-hey, Weiss!" She picked up her pace and soon was back alongside her teammate. "What do you mean by a lot of bad influences?"

The fabulously wealthy, high society girl turned to regard Ruby with a deep frown. Embarrassment coloured her cheeks. "Well, the champagne for one thing. I … don't handle it all that well and almost all the events drown in the stuff." She looked away and was silent. "It brings out ... a bit of a mean streak, you see. And there were often … other things that interfered with my mood. And my friends, well, they don't have your way of looking at the world, I guess."

"Are you saying you really were cruel to Melanie?" asked Ruby in surprise.

"Well, more than dislike me, she has good reason to hate me," admitted Weiss. "I can't say I'm proud of that. I'm not nice when I'm angry, and the time that she was working on the social scene was the angriest time of my life."

"Well, why were you angry?" asked Ruby in genuine puzzlement.

Conflict was writ large across Weiss' face, an anguish that lurked deep beneath the surface. "Because … well. You should know that I am in line to take over the Schnee Dust Company." When Ruby nodded solemnly, she continued. "I am being groomed to eventually run the company. And I know I can reach father's expectations, I know I can do it, but he wouldn't accept anything less than a Schnee's customary best; that is, perfection."

"I don't really know what that's like," admitted Ruby. "My father never really pressured me like that."

"Well, mine did," said Weiss. "But he had to. It has been really … hard for us. We have so many enemies, and the faunus militants in particular hate us. So when it became clear that I had a strong aura, and semblance, and took to my weapon studies, I had … obligations." She looked up at Ruby and shook her head, looking haunted and fragile. "No … no, I don't want to talk about that today," she declared in a whisper.

"Some other day?" suggested Ruby with a smile, knowing she couldn't pry when she had just the other day asked Weiss to not pry into her own past.

At the sight of Ruby's smile, some of Weiss' imperious nature returned. "Well, maybe the day you tell me about how you paid for Crescent Rose," she answered. "But no, I wasn't in a good place. And the social scene just made it so much worse. Everyone is at best a frenemy, and they all love to see someone fall from grace."

"Ew, why go there then?" asked Ruby with a frown. Disbelief showed clearly on her face.

"Because that's what little rich girls are expected to do; no, what they _have _to do!" exploded Weiss in a moment of undirected fury that burst out of her, setting Ruby back on her heels. "And when they don't, when they rock the boat, questions are asked, and when questions are asked families get very upset and people start wondering about the stability of the family and then the companies they run."

Weiss made a noise of disgust and shook her head. "It's so stupid! They're all idiots, do you know that? The day the news of me enrolling in Beacon got out it took five percent off of the SDC's stock price. Just because, as heiress, I was doing something unexpected." Again she shook her head, a look of pure bewilderment on her face. "Do you realise that I could, hypothetically of course, go on a three day alcohol and cocaine bender, insult the entire Vale social set and crash my car and it wouldn't have taken even half that much off the stock price. Just because it fits the accepted stereotype. Expected behaviour, even. But going to Beacon, well that rocks the boat, society kids don't do that." She turned and grinned sickly. "Maddening, isn't it?"

"That's twisted," said Ruby. "I've known a lot of strange ways of doing things; Signal was pretty weird like that, but that sounds ... ugly."

"Everything there is mean girls and cruel boys, who are wasting their time with gossiping, heart-breaking and backstabbing. It's all so...," trailed off Weiss as she tried to find the words. "It's all just so meaningless! But that just seems to make everything all the more vicious, because, like in academics, there's nothing to lose. Friendships are alliances of convenience and love is a weapon used to break hearts," complained Weiss bitterly. "Which is why I told you to watch out for Miltia; Signal Academy mid-years doesn't train you for the sort of things the Malachites or myself grow up with.

"It's so toxic, but so hard to escape when you're there because it just worms itself into everything," confessed the girl in white. She took a deep breath of the fresh morning air and forced herself to push on. "Although when you're there in the middle of it, you don't think about it. When you're there, that's just what the world is, you know. I don't think I ever realised how bad it was there until..."

"Until what?"

The older girl turned and smiled wryly. "Until I got to spend the last couple months as your partner. I don't think you can even understand unless you've been there but... You're the complete opposite of those people. You're silly, and you do some dumb things, and you're childish and sometimes infuriating," she complained, all without heat, "But it's been a real relief to be around someone who is just ... themselves. I really appreciate having you around. Even if you are hiding things from me, they're personal secrets, not something happening behind my back."

Ruby was startled, but her face blossomed into the biggest, most radiant smile that Weiss had ever seen. At least, the biggest smile she had seen that hadn't been prompted by a plate of cookies. "Well, I've been glad to have you as a friend, too. Although if you can stop calling me 'childish', that would be really cool."

"Wow, I've wanted to get that off my chest for like, months now," gasped Weiss as she pressed a hand to her chest and relished the feeling of having a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

The other girl just kept grinning, before nodding to another chalk mark up ahead. "Three-kilometre mark, ready to run, Weiss?" asked Ruby excitedly, feeling energized and ready to go.

Weiss laughed, "Yeah, let's go...," she began, just as Ruby accelerated like she had afterburners hidden in her shoes. "W-woah! Ruby, wait up!"

That marked the last moment in which Weiss had breath to talk for the remainder of the exercise, as the innocuous looking girl in black pushed her to within an inch of her life. Respite did not come until the dawn light finally crested the horizon.

* * *

><p>Melanie Malachite twisted, tossed and turned as the damnable alarm buzzed incessantly. 'Oh give me a break, it can't be morning already,' she thought to herself. With a deep groan she began to push herself up and throw aside the warm blankets. 'Stupid Professor Port,' she thought irately, 'Stupid early morning lectures.' Her feet touched the carpeted floor and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.<p>

"Nothing like insomnia to make your morning," she grumbled acidly.

Velvet sat up in a smooth slow arc like a collapsing bridge, hair flopping down over her face as she doubled over. She called out her team leader's name in a slow, lolling irritated tone. Her rabbit-like ears were limp with sleep and looked like those of a lop-eared bunny, hanging down either side of her head. "I'm not getting breakfast. It's not my turn today, I don't care what anyone says."

"I'll get the damn breakfast," said Aurea irritably, shambling out of the warm bed and making a passable impression of an eldritch abomination as she stretched and groaned lethargically. "Lazy bastards," she complained.

"Two lazy girls up, one to go," mumbled Melanie as she stumbled over to her sister's bed. "Wake up, sleepy-head," she said, pushing at the still unmade blankets on her sister's bed before she realised her sister wasn't there. "Oh," she said quietly to herself. She felt the sympathetic eyes of her teammates burn into her back and she balled her fists in frustration. She didn't like sympathy at the best of times which made this all the more aggravating. "Right, tomorrow," she said through clenched teeth. "Tomorrow afternoon."

Aurea tracked down some pajama-type garments, threw them on and tied a robe around her shoulders. As she began to tie her shoes, preparing for the traditional morning trek to the cafeteria to fetch food for the dorm, Velvet was checking her scroll, frowning as she checked her preferred news services and forums. The faunus girl found little to cheer about in the columns of set-backs to the faunus cause, more reports of militant action and accompanying backlashes. Soon she tossed her scroll onto her pillow in disgust. "Just once I'd like to wake up to some good news," complained the red-head as Aurea left the room.

"Then start following sports, or tournaments or something," Melanie dropped back down onto her own bed and began to check her scroll. "You're not going...," she began before something on the scroll caught her eye. "What the...? Oh."

"Oh?" repeated Velvet quizzically, though she preoccupied herself remaking her bed.

"Message from Miltia," said Melanie absently as she read the text. Her head snapped around to face Velvet, who startled at the sudden movement. "She had a visitor last night," said the girl in a voice sick with worry.

Velvet looked at her expectantly for a moment, then sighed and gave her a hurry-up gesture. "Do you need me to guess, or something?"

"Ruby snuck in after visiting hours," explained Melanie. Velvet looked on in silent expectation. "Just chatted, apparently," continued the team leader with a deep frown.

"Oh look, they're not compulsive killers," exclaimed Velvet with a bright, saccharine expression. "Shock surprise!"

"Yeah, yeah, hold everything I say when I'm emotional against me, that's great," complained Melanie, resisting the urge to flip Velvet off. "But don't think for a moment that Ruby isn't dangerous," she warned.

"I saw Miltiades impaled on a giant scythe, I'm not likely to forget that she's dangerous," snapped Velvet. "But that doesn't mean she's unreasonable. Professor Goodwitch is more dangerous than any Ursa, but that doesn't mean I should be grabbing Wishbearer every time she steps in the room. Anyway, what was Ruby there for?"

"Uh…," began Melanie as she read on. She coughed with embarrassment after a moment. "Miltia says Ruby felt bad about injuring her and came to check up on her."

"Well that sounds pretty reasonable to me," noted Velvet with an acidic pleasantry. "Bodes well for Jaune's big meeting idea, I'd say."

The team leader sat lost in her thoughts for several seconds, before walking over and sitting down on the edge of Velvet's bed. "Gut check, am I going overboard?"

"I think you're drifting into a lust for revenge against Ruby and Weiss, when you really don't even need to," answered Velvet honestly. "Give them a chance, you know. Besides," added Velvet wryly, "If they're as bad as you say, then trying to sink them all would probably be more likely to get us killed than just taking it easy."

"Yeah, but if I know them, and I do, they're all no good. And if I then do nothing and Beacon continues to train them," said Melanie before she sighed. "I'd be standing by while they turn already dangerous students into unstoppable monsters."

"Find me something, anything, to suggest they are what you say they are and I'll support you in this," offered Velvet. "But as it stands, you can't even definitively say that Ruby intended that accident to happen." Even as she said this, however, a little thread of doubt ran through her as she thought about Blake and her phone call with her father. Maybe there was something to it?

Melanie sneered at the idea of it being an accident, but then got control of herself again. She pursed her lips and nodded. "Well, I guess if I'm right, it won't be long before some sign shows up. I need to find a way to make up with Junior, he'd be able to help us get to the truth."

"Junior?" asked Velvet in surprise.

"Yeah, Junior, he's the information broker whose club we were guarding when Yang showed up and went one-girl-army on us," explained Melanie. "You know, as an aside, no one gets that good with only a conventional training and upbringing, you have to be used to putting metal into flesh in real fights to be as good as Yang. People new to fighting always hesitate before doing actual harm to someone, but Yang never skipped a beat when she was breaking bones. You're going to find out, there's a big, big gap between fighting in a practice match and fighting for real."

"Thanks for those words of wisdom," said Velvet with a sarcastic eye roll. "So you need to make something up to him?"

Melanie blushed and looked away. "Yeah, well, he was pretty pissed off we couldn't stop Yang. It's not like he did any better, though, and he had a batzooka for the love of Dust." She shrugged. "Anyway, he was so humiliated that a teenager had walked in and completely wrecked his place that he took it out on us and the staff. He sacked us and said we were black-listed in Vale, which is a big part of why we came here."

"What do you mean black-listed?" asked Velvet in surprise, as Melanie had kept this story close to the vest before now.

"When you're black-listed in the Vale underground, you're shunned," described Melanie. "It's supposed to mean no jobs, no friends, no hope. Doesn't completely work because there's a lot of factions out there you can play off, but life can start getting really uncomfortable." She allowed herself a little giggle and shook her head. "He ranted and railed and tried to tell us we wouldn't get work again in Vale except on our backs, or Dust mining underground. But when me and my sister talked, we thought Dust mining for the Schnees, the oldest profession, and moving to Mistral all sucked as options. So we chose Secret Option D: attending Beacon. Wasn't easy, but it's been worth it. Huntresses can do their own thing and don't have to worry about being beholden to morons like Junior."

"Well, I suppose if you can get him to cool off, then you might get something to convince me," said Velvet. "Until then, I'd like to be on the good side of the girls you seem to think are all stone-cold killers."

* * *

><p>Yang awoke with a jolt as Blake kicked the bed, coming up with fists balled and ready to brawl before she even realised where she was. Blake laughed at her exaggerated reaction as she took a safe step back away from the bunk bed. "Good morning, Yang," greeted the girl, fresh from the shower. She always made a point of being first to the shower, getting in after Ruby left for her run, but before either of the other two woke up.<p>

"Jackass," grumbled Yang, before picking up her pillow and tossing it at Blake, who nimbly slid out of the missile's path. She groggily forced herself up out of bed and went to collect her errant pillow. "Ruby and Weiss back?"

"No, not yet," informed Blake as she began to gather together her class uniform. "You know, those two look like they've been getting along really well."

"Yeah, I'm glad," said Yang as she stumbled over to the sink to splash some cold water over her face. "Brr, okay, now I'm awake," she muttered, more to convince herself than anything else. She reached for the towel. When she looked up, Blake was leaning against the bathroom doorframe. "Ruby left all her friends behind at Signal. It'll be two years before any of them are ready to join Beacon, assuming they even get in."

"It's nice to see you being the caring older sister," commented Blake. "That's something I always missed out on when I was young."

"Hey, I'm just looking forward to her being in Weiss' hair instead of mine!" protested Yang with hands on hips. "When she has her own friends here, I'll be able to catch up with my own again." Blake just gave her a look and Yang waved a hand guiltily. "Aw, fine, you got me. I never got to have Ruby around as much as I wanted when we were kids, it's great having her in my team now. Would be nice to have some more 'me' time now, though."

"That makes sense," answered Blake. "So, what do you think you'll start doing with your time?"

"Get some time on my bike! And find a drinking partner," said Yang immediately. "Oh god, I haven't been on a good crawl since I came to Beacon. Hardly something I can take Ruby on, after all." She glanced over at Blake, who gave her a sceptical look. "I know, it's not exactly curling up with a nice book, but I like to get out and party."

"How did you ever get bar service?" asked Blake with eyebrows raised.

Yang laughed at the question. "Honestly?" she asked, a touch of disbelief in her voice. "I wore a push-up bra. Made me look twenty instantly. No one even asked." She shrugged dismissively. "Besides, this is Vale, we have the laxest approach to law enforcement in all of Vytal. If you're not committing sedition against the Kingdom, just about everything shifts from 'law' to 'guideline' as long as there's no victim involved. And, uh, my usual drinking hole wasn't the most law abiding place anyway."

Blake's eyes lit up as she laughed. "What does that even mean?"

"Place was called The Kennel. It had a lot of rough sorts," explained Yang, before putting up her fists in a fairly theatrical pose. "Ya had to be quick and ya had to be mean to be left alone. But it was the closest watering hole to where I lived, so I didn't have many choices. And really, it was a pretty fun place once they got to know you."

"Not always a good thing," remarked Blake. "Some laws are supposed to protect you know. Even if it is only protecting people from themselves."

Yang turned and leaned back against the counter. "Ha, are you looking out for me, Blake? That's so sweet." Blake gave the blonde girl a dark look that just made her smile all the brighter. "Come on, are you going to tell me you've never indulged?"

Blake's frown held for a beat, but eventually cracked. "Maybe," she admitted with a groan and an eye-roll. It was, in truth, more than a maybe. Spirits had been plentiful around the group that had raised her, and the law was something to be actively resisted. 'And not a drop since I've been at Beacon,' thought Blake to herself. 'Might explain the dreams…' She frowned and shook her head. "So you have a bike?"

"Yes, my beautiful Bumblebee, fast as the wind and harder to catch," named Yang, sighing wistfully. "My poor baby, she's sitting in storage here, but there's nowhere to ride her on this side of the lake. I'd have to get her on the airship and go ride around Vale, so I haven't been out for a spin since I've been here. But she's really something special. The regulars at the Kennel were really big on motorcycles and I learned a lot through them."

Blake paused and considered. "Well, maybe we can make a day of it. Always wanted to know what it was like to ride on one of those."

Yang looked at her with a grin slowly blooming across her face. "Yeah, I'd like that. We'll have to figure out when we have a free weekend."

"Maybe you can show me this scary bar you seemed to grow up in," suggested Blake.

"Aheh, I don't think I'm welcome back there anymore," said Yang self-consciously. "Didn't part on the greatest of terms. But I'm happy to show you around. Did you grow up in Vale?"

Blake froze as she tried to find a way to explain her background. "No, I was always more of a country girl," she said at last. "Lot of living outdoors, camping, countryside, all the rest."

Yang whistled. "No wonder you got good with your weapon, a lot of Grimm start roaming the countryside once you get further out."

"Yeah, it was a pretty hostile place to grow up," admitted Blake in what would have been a strong contender for an understatement of the year award.

"Get into the city much?" asked Yang.

"Yeah, I had a few visits," said Blake. "But I never got to do the tourist thing. Just come down, get ... supplies and then head back out. So I think I'd like the tour." She smiled and mimed opening a book. "There's a lot of places and landmarks I've read about that I've never had a chance to see in Vale City."

"Well, I spent my whole life in Vale, and once I got my motorcycle I made a point of exploring the entire city, so I can take you all sorts of places."

Pleased with the idea, Blake nodded. "I'd like that," she said, before falling silent for several moments. Yang cocked her head at the jet-haired girl, wondering what was on her mind. "Yang," began Blake, hesitantly. "You know, I've actually got really good hearing. The other day when you and Melanie had an altercation, she said something to you as I was standing next to you. About your fight with them. And the fate of a henchman."

Yang's eyes went wide with surprise and she opened her mouth to reply.

At that moment the door to the room opened to admit Ruby and Weiss, the latter being helped along by the former. Blake heaved a enormous sigh, knowing her plan to question Yang was now shot because she got side-tracked. She walked out into the common area of the dorm.

"Yang!" cried out Weiss through gulped breaths. "Your sister is insane! No human being could endure that hell course!"

The blonde girl looked past Blake and grinned with unrestrained wickedness. "Embrace the burn, girl, you'll be fit before you know it."

"I'm already fit!" complained Weiss. "She's just crazy!" With that Weiss stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"She's been like that the whole way back," said Ruby with a shake of the head. "I hope she doesn't quit on me."

"Don't worry, Ruby, she'll be fine," dismissed Blake as she snickered on the inside. "Pushing her to her limit was probably the best thing you could have done. Her pride will force her to stick with it now." As much as Weiss was now a team-mate and friend, the clandestine faunus girl couldn't help but feel a little glee at seeing the heiress of the SDC outperformed like that. Befriending someone from a company she had been raised to hate had been the biggest adjustment she had had to make upon coming to Beacon. Although she was pretty good with it now, every now and again Weiss hid a hurdle and Blake allowed herself a little schadenfreude. More loudly, she said to the rest of the room, "I'm off to go get us breakfast, back in a bit."

As she left, she looked over her shoulder at Yang, who regarded her speculatively, an amused smile on her face. When Yang saw Blake look back, she winked. "Bring back some extra hash brown for me, wouldya, girl?" she asked, clearly unafraid of the fact Blake knew Melanie's inflammatory claim. The faunus girl was surprised, unsure what that meant.

* * *

><p>For Miltiades, two days passed with the sort of brevity that one would normally expect from a comfortable afternoon spent watching paint dry. It was intolerable, and there was only so much a humble scroll could do to keep an active girl entertained. So she spent the rehabilitation of her aura and body restless and irritable, making life unpleasant for the infirmary staff. She knew she was being unfair, of course, but it was impossibly frustrating to just lay there and wait. There were classes to get to, assignments to go on. Training exercises to practice, physical fitness to maintain. Every day spent on ice was a day she wasn't working on her upper-body strength, the main deficiency that her teachers told her was holding her back. Professor Goodwitch had visited her in person to go over the fight, and the damage her solitary hit on Ruby had generated was confidence-shakingly low. Glynda had been encouraging, pointing to her great evasion and the fact that she had a hitting power that she claimed was above average. Miltia didn't believe that though, there was no way that little girl was that tough. Against auras as strong as she would encounter in Beacon, she simply had to hit harder.<p>

So there was a particular dark-haired girl with silver eyes whom she really wanted to gain some ground on, and resting in a hospital bed did her absolutely no good. Being repeatedly pestered by a sister who wouldn't stop freaking out did her no good either. Aurea and her partner Velvet had each taken time to visit her, as had her friend Alice, whom she had met in her now complete remedial semblances class. She had appreciated the visits, but none of them could stay long and by and large it was just Miltia and her music collection for two boring days.

But the interminable waiting was over. A doctor with a very elaborate scroll in her hands was checking over a variety of aura indicators, hemming and hawing in a manner that Miltia hoped was positive. After a little while the doctor invited her to stand and ran her through several stretches and extensions. With each shift in position, the doctor checked her breathing and the performance of the re-knit muscles.

"Ah, the resilience of youth," admired the doctor breathily. "You'd never have known these muscles had been almost completely severed, would you?" she suggested to the nurse next to her.

"That faunus mage was very helpful," replied the mage. "She probably halved the patient's recovery time. Definitely cut down on the scarring as well"

Miltiades grated as she stood there, hands clasped high above her head as she held the required stance. She was chilly in the flimsy hospital garb and enormously self-conscious in front of the two women. But more than anything else, she just wanted to be out and active. She hopped antsily on her heels, willing the older pair to hurry up and make the call. The cold floor did not help the wait at all.

The doctor dropped her stethoscope to hang about her neck once more and smiled. "Very well, you're cleared to leave and resume light duties. Come see me again in five days and we'll see about clearing you for combat." Miltiades let out a heart-felt, if unbecoming, whoop, pumping both fists in celebration. The doctor laughed at her, then turned to her nurse. "Has her battle dress been mended yet?"

"Yes, I have it right here," confirmed the nurse.

That got a sharp nod and a wink for Miltia out of the doctor. "Alright then, suit up, Miss Malachite, and then see me at the front desk when you're ready to leave. Your friends are waiting out there."

"Absolutely," said Miltia in a great exhalation of relief. She gratefully took hold of the bag of clothes from the nurse and immediately put it up on her hospital bed and rummaged through. The tall red boots, the stockings, the gloves and scarf, but most of all, now good as new, the red and black strapless dress she loved so much. "Yes! You are back, baby," she muttered to herself as she cradled her claw weapons.

She stripped off the hospital gown as fast as her over-eager fingers could manage, tossing it onto the ground and quickly putting on everything bar the dress. She picked up her battle dress, but paused and set it back up on the hospital bed, and looked down, frowning. Her fingertip reached up to mark the spot where Crescent Rose had punctured her chest, a six inch wound that had started at her collar and stretched down along the inside of her right breast. A shiver shot up her back. A few inches to the left and it would have been her spine on the far end of the blow. A few more inches past that and it would have been her heart.

When she looked down at the dress, since she knew where to look, she could spot the mend that had been made in the dress. It was just a crease with a little discolouration, but it was there. Melanie had told her the academy's armourers had been forced to strip out and replace the lamellar steel structure as it was so badly damaged. That protective lining ran through the mid-layer of the dress from the waist up. If she hadn't been a student, the work would have set her back tens of thousands of Lien. She wondered if it would have been worth it; nothing but the red earth of Remnant did a thing to even slow Ruby's scythe. Not the steel, not her aura, not even her flesh.

She kept up her image, tried to keep Melanie from mothering her, but it had been well and truly the most terrifying moment of her entire life. Her sleep had been broken during both the last two nights with grotesque dreams of the scythe going in. In the most recent one, the scythe had been something fleshy and alive, feeding on her like a parasite. She didn't mention it to anyone, as she knew that her sister would force her to see one of the psychologists they kept on staff, which Miltiades was sure would be overkill. 'I'm not crazy,' she told herself, 'Just a little nervy.'

Miltiades turned and sat upon the hospital bed and held her dress in her hands, looking at the mend. There were many other subtle mends in the fabric, of course. Battle dresses and combat skirts, like any other form of armour, were very expensive items, and were not thrown away casually. None of the other mends were so large, or as awkwardly placed. She ran the palm of her hand over where the wound had been, feeling for unevenness or pockets of hardness or anything else that might suggest it hadn't healed right and that she had been physically changed by the experience. But nothing remained there, nothing but the most imperceptible white line where once had been a yawning chasm through fatty breast, through hard pectoral muscle, through fascia, rib, and lung. It still frightened her to dwell on the fact she had actually been run clean through.

Her head drooped into her hands as she felt a sick analog of relief. "You're okay, Miltia," she told herself. "You're not deformed, you're not scarred. You're not … dead. Just come on, game face."

Vanity seemed a silly concern for someone interested in fighting Grimm for a living but no matter how much she told herself it shouldn't matter, in the end it mattered deeply to her, and she knew it. Miltiades knew she was pretty enough to hold her head high next to any girl in the Academy. It had become a point of pride, like her agility and skills. No one went out in a strapless mini-dress without being very confident that they could pull pull off the look. Particularly not in a dress with the sort of low, tight and provocative neckline that Miltia's had. As a result, the twins had a strong vain streak, which had been born out of an innocent enough fascination playing dress-ups as children. This had ultimately found expression in the feathered and enticing ensembles they wore to work. In a way, it had been a helpful trick; many people saw the vanity and made the mistake of assuming that 'vapid' or 'foolish' went with it. Both girls were sharp as flint, however, and anyone who underestimated them was soon violently corrected.

"You're fine, stop fretting, just put on the dress and go see them," she told herself again firmly. 'Spend two days desperate to get out of the infirmary, then have a freak-out when it's time to go, yeah, sure handled that well,' she thought angrily. She sighed and pulled the dress on over her head and fastened it up the side. Ruby had done a number on her and she knew she couldn't pretend otherwise. It was perfectly natural, of course. You don't get that close to dying without it leaving its mark.

The door opened again and the nurse poked her head in, just as Miltiades finished strapping her retractable claws to her forearms. "Miss Malachite, are you … oh, good, you're done," she said, her tone turning from concern to relief. "Sorry to hassle you, just checking up."

"How do I look?" asked Miltiades with as confident a grin as she could manage.

"Ready to take on a forest full of Grimm," encouraged the nurse brightly. Miltiades shook her head and gave a wry smile. It hadn't been exactly what she was hoping to hear, but it would do. She left the room and strode out into the lobby of the infirmary, forcing a cocky sway in her hips and a wicked curl to her lips. Her sister was in her resplendent white battle dress, arms folded under her chest and head tilted back arrogantly, waiting for her.

"Miss me, girls?" asked Miltiades brightly.

"Yes, Miltia we missed you," said Aurea with a laugh. "Next time, dodge faster, okay?"

"Ah, no scarring, perfect," noted Velvet, just a little smug with appreciation of her own handiwork. "Score one for the ol' healing hands. Just as well, or you'd have had to ditch the strapless look."

The cocky attitude faded from Miltia's walk, and she glanced down and pressed her fingers to the wear the wound tract had started when she had first arrived at the hospital. The skin was bare, easily above the strapless neckline of the dress. "The doctor says I have you to thank for the clean healing, if not the fact I'm alive." Miltia stepped forward and hugged her faunus partner tightly. "I really appreciate it, Velvet."

"Aw, don't mention it," dismissed Velvet with a smile, hugging Miltia back. When they separated, she tugged down on one of her rabbit-like ears self-consciously, pleased at the gratitude.

"Would have been an awkward spot for a scar," said Aurea with a grimace. "At least you won't have to pay Ruby back for that."

Miltia hummed and placed a finger against her lips. "No, I'll just owe her the two days in a hospital bed. Grimm and Dust, but I'd love to repay the favour on that." She walked over to her sister and set her hands on her hips. "Ready to stop fretting over me?" she asked idly.

Melanie rolled her eyes with feeling and shook her head. She grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her into an embrace. "You just don't do well with someone actually caring about you, do you?" she asked dryly.

"Don't get mushie on me, Mel," warned Miltia with a smile.

"Oh, come on. Our old class had a Beowolf hunting exercise, so Alice sent her regards instead. But there's a field exercise of our own to get to, though it's nothing nearly as interesting," explained Melanie as she stepped back.

"Oh, god, not more sap gathering?" complained Miltaides.

Melanie grinned evilly and shrugged. "No, of course not, sap is fun next to what we get to do today."

"W-wait, what then!?" stammered Miltia nervously.

* * *

><p>Teams RWBY, MAVM, and JNPR staggered back into the classroom after the singularly dullest field assignment that any of them had yet experienced at Beacon. No one looked even slightly pleased; the best that was managed was a few looks of relief on the faces of a few of the students. Each of them had a bag of footprint casts from an afternoon spent finding the tracks of Grimm and making casts of them.<p>

"That was so much crap. Hammer-on-Grimm count for the week of zilch," complained Nora despondently.

"Don't even start, Valkyrie," objected Melanie. "At least Pyrrha got to bring down a Beowolf for your team; we had to pull back to keep Miltia safe."

"Sorry about that," apologised Pyrrha reflexively. If she were totally honest, the fight with the Beowolf had been the only bright point of the battle. In front of all three teams, she had rather daringly used her shield to slide under the Grimm's claws, right inside its guard, and thrust truly with her spear, skewering the monster's head and killing it instantly. She had to admit, it had felt good to have a moment to impress her allies. Normally the only person she got to impress these days was Jaune, and it was hard to take much pride in impressing someone who had only gotten into Beacon by virtue of hacking transcripts, no matter how fun and goofy he was.

Professor Port walked in twirling his moustache and looking inordinately pleased with himself. "Well done, students, that was perfectly executed, in outstanding time. Footprint casts of Ursa, Beowolfs and Boarbatusks. All while almost completely successfully avoiding combat." He turned towards Pyrrha and gave her a dark look. "With the exception of one indiscretion, that is. Miss Pyrrha."

"Sorry, sir, that sneaky Beowolf just got too close, couldn't be helped. Really sorry," said Pyrrha nervously, trying to feign contrition as best she could.

"Well, that's alright," said Port. "It will be important to learn how to move as a group without being seen by Grimm, however. Sometimes it will be imperative to avoid battle, such as when you are carrying wounded or messages, or reconnoitring." He took a moment to look over the class and nodded with satisfaction. "Okay, that will be the end of classes for today, please make sure to bring the casts with you for your morning class tomorrow, where we will be doing training work on tracking Grimm."

The students all piled out into the hallway with an almost unseemly haste to put an end to the day's classes. The assignment had been mind-numbingly boring and all of them felt it was pointless. But the end of the class meant the end of the school day for the students. And with Miltiades now out of the infirmary, the time had come for Jaune to host their mediation meeting.

Jaune cleared his throat to get the attention of the other students as they waited in the hallway. "Okay guys, no one is pulling out of the meeting, right?"

"No, we'll be there," said Melanie tiredly.

"Of course," added Ruby, trying to smile and sound positive.

"Alright, in one hour's time, we have one of the library meeting rooms to ourselves," advised Jaune. He pulled out a slip of paper and read off the exact room number. "So, in one hour's time, we all meet there. So put your stuff away, grab a snack, and then show up." He looked between the two team leaders and frowned, gesturing rapidly with his hands. "Come on guys, some enthusiasm, really! This will be really good for everyone, try to sound like it!"

Despite Nora letting rip with an unhealthily enthusiastic whoop, the other two teams greeted Jaune's exhortations with a blasé attitude. Both sides were not thrilled by the idea of a sit down meeting, no matter the potential benefits to the group. Jaune threw up his hands and began to walk away, hoping rather than trusting that the two teams would work with him.

Weiss snickered and shook her head in Jaune's direction as Team RWBY clustered together in the hall. "That boy…," she lamented. "Well, he's a dreamer, you can say that much about him at least."

That earned a snicker out of Yang. "Come on, Vomit Boy means well. And it might work."

Ruby gave her sister an admonishing look with hands on hips. But before she could give voice to her disapproval, she noticed something over Weiss' shoulder and glanced that way, then startled. Green eyes were staring back at her, almost burning with intensity. Miltiades. The girl had given Ruby a wide berth throughout the field exercise but had seemingly gotten over her skittishness. 'What are you up to?' wondered Ruby to herself.

"It's all worth a shot," said Blake more in a more upbeat manner than the others. "I'm sure Ruby will appreciate not having to front the headmaster again. Right, Ruby?" she asked, even as the girl ignored her and silently walked past Weiss, toward the middle of the hall. Blake tried again, "Uh, Ruby?" But this had no more success than the first appeal. The three girls tracked their leader's departure before sharing a glance that said none of them knew what was going on.

When the young team leader stopped at the centre of the hall, Miltiades stepped away from her team. Velvet had been in the middle of explaining something to her group, and she trailed away in surprise as her partner left the conversation. Further away, the sudden hush piqued Pyrrha's interest, and when she turned to see Ruby and Miltiades facing off again in the middle of the hall, she brought Jaune up short with a hand on his backplate. He came to a halt with a strangled cry, before turning to face his partner. "Uh, Pyrrha, I appreciate the..." he began to say before trailing off upon seeing the two antagonists coming face to face. "Oh…" Nora and Lie Ren had stopped when Jaune did, so the three groups collectively formed a triangle around the two girls in black and red dress.

Ruby looked Miltia over with a quick sweep of the eyes. "You're looking much better," she said with a friendly smile before Miltiades could talk. "I'm glad; you looked pretty grim in the infirmary."

The older girl was agitated, and gave her a sour look with narrowed eyes. Her boots came with tall heels that let her look down her nose at the younger girl, which helped bolster her confidence. Facing Ruby armed and in her full battle regalia was unnerving her and she appreciated any advantage she could get. "So good of you to say so," she said. "Velvet's handiwork did a good job taking care of _your_ handiwork, thankfully."

Ruby shifted awkwardly in front of Miltia. It was impossible for Ruby not to be acutely aware that she was dealing with an older, taller and more mature girl. She tried not to feel intimidated as she faced up to her. "She also bailed you out with the windstorm; she seems like a very helpful person to have as a partner."

Miltiades ran a finger slowly and deliberately over the place where the scythe had hit her, a gesture which inadvertently made Jaune all but seize up. "She really is," agreed Miltia. "A Dust Mage has all kinds of ways of squaring things up in a fight when one side is willing to play dirty."

That got under Ruby's skin, as she folded her arms and glared at the older girl. "I don't play dirty," she insisted. "I fight hard, but I fight fair!"

"You fight to win, Ruby Rose and hang anything else," corrected Miltiades, "And while that's a fine thing for fighting Grimm, I don't like having it used on me."

"But that's not how that fight went at all," protested Ruby.

"I have discharge papers from two nights in the infirmary that say it was," retorted Miltiades.

The younger student glared hotly and reached out and seized hold of the black sash that cinched the waist of Miltia's dress, and used it to pull the girl close. A ripple of shock ran through her classmates at the abrupt move. A soft 'eek' escaped the girl in red as she partly collided with Ruby, placing her hands on the other girl's arms defensively. The silver-eyed girl clearly either didn't realise or didn't care about how suggestive an arrangement she had placed herself in. Miltia herself was wide-eyed and wondering what to make of Ruby, who was glaring so fiercely at her.

"Those discharge papers should be telling you I didn't play to win," whispered Ruby so that only the Malachite girl could hear her. She tilted her head up at the taller girl, letting her see the frustration in her eyes. Her whisper was angry and indignant, and drew concerned looks from the other students.

If the two girls were standing back and shouting at each other, their team mates would know what to do, and could defuse matters quickly. But with both girls doing their best to not be overheard, they were bound together tightly in what looked little short of an embrace and seemingly oblivious to the appearance to those watching.

"Ruby, I have had nightmares the last two nights running," shot back Miltia in an equally intense whisper. "You tried to kill me, you even admitted it," she hissed, feeling her chest constrict fearfully with the memory. "I know it was the heat of the moment but you _know_ you went too far. Do you have any idea what you've done to me?"

Frustration boiled over within Ruby. "I _had_ you," she insisted, "Right there, and all I had to do was shrug and 'poof' goes you and all my secrets, but I let you go. Yes, in that one moment I overstepped, but are you really so surprised when you started alluding to secrets in a recorded exercise like you did? Do you have any idea how scared you made me then? Do you have any idea how scared of you I still am? But just think of how many times I could have just finished you off if that was what I had really wanted, but I didn't! I let you go, Miltia, I let you live even though you know enough to get me into ridiculous amounts of trouble. And you want to say I play for keeps, play dirty?"

Weiss began to move forward, but found Yang's arm across her path. The blonde girl was shaking her head. None of the others sensed a potential for violence between the pair. Of course, being on the outside of the whisper-fest was even more uncomfortable to be around than if the two girls were in a shouting match, since there was no obvious reason to interfere.

"They're just talking. She's the team leader, let her finish what she started," muttered Yang in an aside to Weiss, wanting to back her sister's judgement. "Anyway, they don't look like they're going to punch on."

"Yang, I am not okay with this," hissed Weiss, but Yang waved the concern away.

Miltia arched back, blinking at the girl's heated reaction. She trembled slightly as she digested what Ruby had told her. There was a pause before she responded. She shook her head in denial as her hand reached out and caught a fistful of Ruby's cape by the little cross pins, triggering a slew of scandalised whispers around her. Behind her she heard Velvet make a startled noise. For a moment her irritation subsided as she thought of how suitably rabbit-like the sound was, but straight afterwards a massive sinking feeling came over her.

"Uh oh; I just realised," she whispered to Ruby in a thoughtful voice as soft as butterfly wings. Her head tilted to the side and her eyelids hooded slyly: "Velvet is faunus ... she would have heard everything we just said. Including your little admission." Ruby's gaze flicked over Miltia's shoulders at Velvet, who suddenly sported an anxious and guilty expression to go with her tall ears.

The faunus girl waved awkwardly. Ruby looked back to the girl in the red dress and blushed, even as Miltia began to realise how awkwardly close they now were in public. The moment that Ruby's eyes left her, Velvet turned and fixed Blake with a look. The cat faunus returned her look coolly. The sensitivity of hearing required to eavesdrop on the conversation was well beyond any of the human students there. But both faunus girls knew that Blake's hearing was just as capable of catching the whispered conversation as Velvet's had been. As a result, Blake had to feign ignorance, as anything else would be tantamount to pulling the bow off of her head and modelling her cat ears. This inability to give voice to what she had learned was driving Blake quietly insane. She glared at the back of Ruby's head, fighting a powerful urge to turn the girl upside down and shake her until the secrets came spilling out.

"So you set me up?" asked Ruby in a hurt voice as the hand at Miltia's waist began to shake slightly. But the older girl shook her head, eyes wide. Ruby bit her lower lip but nodded after a moment, accepting that the girl was telling the truth. "She also heard that you're having nightmares," she pointed out after thinking back through the conversation.

Miltia stiffened with the realisation. After a moment resignation settled over her and she looked down. There was no way she was avoiding consequences for that disclosure. Velvet would hound her until she talked to her about it.

However, the moment Miltiades' head slipped down, vaguely towards the other girl, Weiss' mind sent up a giant 'Nope!' signal. She burst past Yang's arm and thrust herself into the discussion. "That's enough, you two," she snapped angrily. She reached in and pulled Ruby back by the arm, causing her to stumble towards Weiss. However, Ruby didn't let go of Miltia's sash in time. All three clashed together, but by stepping across into them, Weiss ended up between the other two, with her forearm braced against Miltia's collar. A moment later Jaune arrived, pushing down on Weiss' arm and forcing some space between her and the Malachite girl.

"We were just talking," offered Miltiades quietly in her defence, a little timid in the face of her own embarrassment and Weiss' furious expression.

"We're about to have a whole meeting for doing just that," said Weiss sharply. "So this is not the time for this. Now back off, Malachite!" She pulled her arm away from the other girl and moved back, shielding her quite bemused partner as she went.

Miltiades frowned, but put up her hands and backed away, shaking her head at Weiss as she went. Behind her Melanie came up and pulled her away. Once Weiss and Melanie were between the other two girls, Melanie frowned and said, "See you girls in an hour, I guess." She shook her head in frustration as she began to walk away, pulling her sister along by the arm. As Miltia began to follow her, she looked back at the silver-eyed girl, and mimed drawing a zipper across her lips, earning a relieved smile out of Ruby. She mimicked the gesture back at Miltia, who nodded.

"That damned Schnee! Ugh. What was all that about anyway, Miltia?" demanded Melanie with a confused look the moment they were further away. When she didn't get a response right away she huffed. "Totally thought you two were about to make out when you grabbed her collar," she said half-seriously, shaking her head.

Miltiades couldn't quite help herself and broke into a lop-sided grin. "Looking for a scandal, Melanie? I guess I may have pursed my lips on reflex when she grabbed my belt, but Ruby didn't take the hint," she faux-lamented, just to get under her sister's skin.

"They were just rehashing stuff that shoulda been left to the mediation, like who was at fault for what," said Velvet, covering for her partner. Miltiades glanced over in surprise at the bail-out, and got a sour look back. "Dunno why they bothered with the whispering."

"Alright, whatever," sighed Melanie, letting go of Miltia's arm and walking on ahead.

Velvet slipped in alongside her partner and muttered next to her ear, "You owe me answers. We'll talk later."

"Fine, but not at Beacon," agreed Miltiades.


	5. Meeting Engagement

**A/N: Sorry this one too so long to bring out. I actually got a good 14,000 words into a previous draft of this chapter before I realised it wasn't going anywhere good and junked it to start again. Fun times… Anyway, and I hate putting this in an author's note, but there just hasn't been a suitable place to demonstrate a Lien to Dollar conversion, I'm running on a 10 Lien = 1 Dollar general formula, since we haven't seen any mention of cents. So 2,000 Lien for a blade piece means $200. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...**

"Right, so, what are we planning?" asked Aurea with her strong and wiry arms folded tautly across her chest.

Team MAVM were eating their lunch on the secluded roof of the science block, next to the library, ploughing through a quartet of rolls with various fillings. The view of the various outbuildings and complexes that made up the sprawling Beacon campus was breathtaking. As soon as they had first snuck up here and seen the view, they were hooked on the spot.

"For the meeting?" asked Melanie. "I guess take it easy. No need to start a fight."

"Even if Weiss starts to wind you up?" asked Velvet dryly.

Melanie nodded, swallowing a healthy mouthful of chicken, lettuce, tomato and bread. "Especially then, I have to keep my cool." She turned and pointed a finger at her teammates. "You guys will need to keep my focus if I get angry."

Miltiades nibbled thoughtfully at her own lunch. "We shouldn't have to, it's Ruby you'll be dealing with now."

"And Jaune," Velvet pointed out.

"Which really means Pyrrha," said Aurea jokingly. "Only one pair of pants in that relationship, and they don't fit Mr Arc."

Melanie rolled her eyes and waved dismissively at that. "If Pyrrha was really wearing the pants, they'd be an official item by now. Anyway, I spoke to Pyrrha; they want to get people to promise to work together in class and field. We're all adults, we can agree to that. We'll see what the specifics are, but it should be fine."

"Earns us some time, either way," said Aurea. "Either to come to terms … or to figure out what they're hiding, one or the other."

"Speaking of which," began Melanie slowly. "Miltia, when are you going to tell me the rest of what you know about Ruby?"

"I told you, I'm keeping that to myself for now," replied the sister in red coolly.

"Whatever," sighed Melanie. "Just as long as you're not trying to use what you know to get Ruby to do your homework." She dusted off her hands and stood up as she finished her meal. "Anyway, back to the dorm before the meeting," she announced, walking to the drain-pipe that let them up past the locked door. The rest of the team began to follow her, with Aurea disappearing shortly after Melanie.

But before the other two could follow, Velvet stepped across Miltia's path and said for her partner's ears only, "Don't forget, you still owe me that explanation."

"Are you really fixed on that, Velvet?" asked Miltiades. "I did say I wouldn't talk in Beacon, but… Your parents have a café, don't they?"

Velvet rolled her eyes. "Fine," she acquiesced. "My folks would probably appreciate my visit, anyway. Tomorrow lunchtime then, okay? No freebie though, you're paying." A subtle curl took the corners of her lips. "We're not rich enough for freeloaders."

* * *

><p>"You absolute dunce, Ruby Rose!" snapped Weiss Schnee, with her hands on her hips.<p>

Blake had just disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up as Yang left to go fetch a late lunch for the team. Weiss was left free to round on her team leader, whom she bailed up against the desk under the window. Her eyes were sharp and narrow with a frustration that was starting to spill over into anger. Her aura began to react to the emotional tumult, icy crystals forming and disappearing in the air around her.

Ruby jumped in fright at the sudden blast from her friend. "Oh god, what did I do?"

"I told you to stay away from Miltiades, and what did you do?" snapped Weiss. "If that scoundrel had had a cold you'd be sneezing by now!"

"Ohhh, that," said Ruby, as she hopped up to sit upon the desk.

"Yes, that," snapped Weiss, before she ran a hand over the scarred side of her face. "Okay, I know you have a reason. You had to have had a reason, right?"

"For talking to Miltiades?" asked Ruby quizzically.

"Uh, no. Ruby, you grabbed her by the belt, I thought you were about to embrace," huffed Weiss.

"Oh, leave it alone, Weiss, don't try and mother me," complained Ruby. Her reason for talking to Miltiades was quite clear to herself, after all, and she had no intention of giving Weiss a hook to try to get her talking. Ruby had promised to come to Weiss if what she did to pay for Crescent Rose came back to haunt her, but she certainly wasn't going to jump the gun on whether Miltiades intended to exploit what she knew.

A four-note piping noise came from Ruby's scroll. Happy for the diversion, she pulled out the device and opened it up. "Ah, it's my weapon smith," she said happily. "My back-up blade set is ready. I had to order a replacement after my last set wore down too far. I wish I could still forge my own, it would save me some Lien, but I had to start using alloys that were too hard for me to work with."

Seeing an opportunity dangling in front of her to help her partner, Weiss put on her business hat. "Well, you told us each blade piece was two thousand to replace, so, six thousand Lien for the set," she reasoned. "You have to consider that a big ticket item that I can help out with, surely?"

The dark-haired girl gave her a blank look, edged with embarrassment. Silently she stood and half-expanded her scythe, and quickly manipulated a series of pins, joints and fasteners to unlock the weapon's head from the shaft. When she sat back down she laid the great big assembly down across the laps of both girls, chassis down. When Ruby's finger traced the faint vertical lines that travelled down the sides of each metal plate, Weiss realised with a start that the seemingly solid blade chunks were in fact a mass of smaller pieces, locked together in an electro-magnetic frame.

"Wait, each sub-piece is two thousand to replace?" whispered Weiss incredulously. "How many are there?"

"Twenty-five pieces; but Ben gave me a discount for replacing a whole set. So forty thousand is what I owe him," answered Ruby.

"Myrtenaster's blade was only twelve thousand," compared Weiss in shock. "And that uses experimental alloys and the very best smiths."

"Yeah, but Myrtenaster weighs like two pounds," contended Ruby with a grin. "I have a weapon so big I'm still growing into it."

A new voice broke in on the conversation as Yang returned with a cardboard carry-box from the canteen. "Worship me, ladies, for I come bearing food!" she cried. She placed the box on the desk and glanced over at them. "Well, you two look cosy."

Ruby froze wondering if Weiss would spill the beans to Yang, but her partner just smiled and answered, "Just helping her look for damage."

"Pfft, boring," snorted Yang. "Why bother, you didn't get to use it on anything interesting today. Now eat up, meeting's soon. And _Blake, for god's sake get out of the bathroom_!"

* * *

><p>"Wow, okay, I've never chaired my own meeting before," admitted Jaune to his peers with a deeply goofy grin on his face. He cleared his throat as the girls around the table groaned in dismay, fearing a power trip coming on. Pyrrha gave him a quick nudge to keep him grounded, however, and he began to proceed. "But whatever, I'm sure we'll be fine.<p>

"Okay, so there's twelve of us now," he began. "Personally, I'm thrilled to see the back of Cardin and his boys. I guess you and your girls, Melanie, might not be so cool with it..."

"Not really, no," complained the Malachite girl in the white dress. "We were pretty happy in our old class, to be honest." She turned to look at Jaune and waved her hands defensively. "No offence to you guys though! We ... were just happy where we were, you know? We're glad that Cardin has left Velvet alone now they're trying to fit in elsewhere, though."

"Well, okay, I can see why you maybe wouldn't want to move," allowed Jaune. "But Professor Goodwitch was pretty adamant that this was set in stone now. So we kind of have to sort it out."

"Alright, before we spend an hour talking around in circles," interrupted Weiss, who was more used to meetings than anyone else in the room, "What do you want to see from this, Jaune?"

The young man thought about that for a moment, then leaned forward with a deep frown. "Alright, if you want me to cut to the chase, here goes..."

"Jaune," warned Pyrrha anxiously.

Her partner held up a hand as he glanced between Melanie, Weiss and Ruby. "If this were just an ordinary school, I'd say feel free to carry on being catty to each other." Both sides of the table arced up over that and eight voices immediately tried to talk over each other.

Pyrrha stood to her feet and slapped her hand down onto the table. "Quiet!" The noise died down, even though the glares didn't. "Sorry," apologised the Amazon reflexively as she sat back down.

Before Jaune could continue, he caught a glance of the deathly, evil eye that Weiss was shooting his way, and he felt his chest constrict in blind terror. Swallowing a cold lump, he forced himself to continue. "B-b-but we're not just in a classroom, r-right?"

"Nope," noted Ruby, about the only person to have kept a smile through the whole meeting. "We also fight Grimm."

"And shoot my sister," added Melanie in a stage whisper.

"When you go and yoink our stuff without asking," answered Ruby, her smile becoming a little strained.

Jaune held up his hand to halt the fight. "See, this; this is what I wanted this meeting for. We _know_ that we are all going to be fighting things together, as a group. So we're going to be around each other with deadly weapons and oversized monsters running amuck. At some point, we have to be able to work together."

"Otherwise," interjected Lie Ren, the quiet young man surprising everyone. "We'll not only end up dead, but the coroner will sign our certificates with 'Death by Stupidity'. Not how I'd like to go out."

There was a more subdued reaction as Lie Ren made the stakes clear. Melanie shifted awkwardly in her seat as she weighed up the emotional price of burying the hatchet with someone she hated, versus the very real physical danger she was setting for herself. Nora, for her part, decided the most appropriate response was to reach out and pinch Ren's cheek whilst squealing proudly.

"Nora, shush," hissed Jaune, "I'm trying to make a speech here!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry, orate away, Your Majesty," teased Nora with a grandiose sweep of the arms.

"Anyway," sighed Jaune as he resumed talking to the team leaders. "Okay, I don't expect your teams to, well, you know, take long walks on the beach together..."

"What if it's a mission to patrol a beach?" asked Nora. Pyrrha and Jaune both turned as one to fix their teammate with an incandescent glare. "Eep!"

Jaune cleared his throat and gamely fought on. "Right, well, if you're on a mission to patrol a beach, then yes, we need to get to the stage where we'll all take long walks on the beach. Thanks, Nora."

"Nora, if you pipe up one more time," began Pyrrha before she leaned over and whispered urgently into Miss Valkyrie's ear, who went red and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. When Pyrrha settled back into her seat, there was silence again.

"Okay, let's try that again," said the JNPR team leader. "What I want to see is our three teams out in the field, fighting enemies that aren't each other, and cooperating together. We accomplished cool things with two teams working together and one team of jerks. So I think that if we can all get on the same page we can be the best class in the whole first year.

"So think for a moment, what promises do we all need before we can work as a group?" asked Jaune earnestly.

After several seconds of contemplation, Ruby coughed and said under her voice, "A promise to not steal our Deathstalker stingers?" When Jaune shot her a dirty look she beamed innocently back at him.

"Fine, let me go first," suggested Jaune. "I want a promise, for all occasions, and I'll give it myself, that no one fights anyone else in the group when out on a mission. Okay? No repeats of that stinger-gathering mission. No matter what happens, we promise not to draw weapons on each other, at all."

"I'm on board with that," agreed Velvet quickly.

"We'll need some way to settle disputes," pointed out Yang. "Thumping people does the trick most times, but I guess it's a bit too risky among us."

"Yeah, Yang, when have your fists ever led you astray before?" asked Aurea drolly.

Pyrrha cleared her throat and tapped the table to keep them all on track. "We'll come back here ... not like to this exact room, but we'll have a meeting. We need an undertaking that if any of us does something to cheese off someone outside of their team, we come back and discuss it as a group to figure out what to do."

"Nice idea, Pyrrha," complimented Jaune with a dip of the head.

"Thank you, Jaune," preened Pyrrha, both blissfully indifferent to Yang and Melanie groaning at their by-play.

"I think we can work with that," committed Aurea hesitantly, looking for and getting nods from her team-mates. "Like, whichever two teams are fighting, you can bring the third team in and agree for them to sort it out?"

"Yeah, like that," answered Pyrrha.

"Without any punching?" checked Yang as she folded her arms.

"Uh, unless the third team thinks punching will help for some obscure reason, probably not," the red-headed Amazon awkwardly replied to Yang.

"Just promise to cooperate and don't be stubborn about trying to lone-wolf something," said Ruby with a very sharp undertone. "That whole big blow-up started because you guys weren't confident soloing a Deathstalker, but were too embarrassed to ask for help."

"We all have our pride," replied Miltiades in a quiet but firm voice.

"Pride before reason will lead us nowhere that we want to be," retorted Lie Ren.

Nora snorted and banged on the table. "Come on, we want to have _fun_, we want to blow stuff up! If we can work as a team, it means we get to blow up bigger and badder stuff. There's no downside to this, see? So don't say pride when you really mean afraid!"

Melanie recoiled, but checked herself before she replied. "Fine," she muttered finally. "In the field, we'll work together. But in the classroom, well, we'll see."

"We don't have to like each other, we just have to agree not to try and get each other killed," grumbled Ruby in response.

"And you're the first person we should be asking to make that agreement," shot back Melanie as she struggled with her temper and ego.

"Enough, Mel," soothed Miltiades, putting her hand on her sister's wrist. "I told you, it was an accident," she explained, even as she gave Ruby a very arch look.

"Okay, then I'll be the first," accepted Ruby as she folder her arms. "On behalf of me, and Team Ruby, I promise not to start a fight, or try and harm you guys. I promise to cooperate in the field as best I can. I also promise that any issues my team has with any of you guys will go to a meeting to resolve, rather than fight it out."

"Is your team going to promise as well?" asked Melanie.

"No," answered Ruby. "I'm promising for my team, so they're all covered by it, and I'll hold them all to it. This is my call as team leader." The other RWBY girls blinked, especially Weiss, who was taken aback at the decisive display from the girl whose immaturity she so often complained about. But Ruby wanted to show that she was every bit the peer of Jaune and Melanie, and that she could lead her powerful comrades.

"That works for me," declared Jaune, looking at Melanie and her team.

The girl in white bit her lip, but nodded. "Okay, that will do. We promise the same then. No fighting, work as a team in the field." She paused then followed on with, "Ruby, can you swear to me that what happened with my sister was an accident?"

"Melanie!" hissed Miltiades in frustration.

Blake stirred at Yang's side. "Melanie, you go too far," she complained sharply, hoping to deter the question as she knew it hadn't been an accident. The dark girl had seen little to intervene in until now, as she had little to do with the hostility between the teams, but she wouldn't stay quiet whilst Melanie made dangerous demands of her friend.

"It's okay," reassured the silver-eyed team leader heedlessly, settling her friends down. "Yes, I swear it was nothing but an accident," she swore to Melanie, with a sweet, angelic face and crystal clear voice.

It was just as well that Melanie was leaning ahead of Velvet, as the girl's shocked expression may have put the lie to Ruby's statement. Blake's face became a mask, so still and unreadable that she looked like a porcelain doll until she exhaled. She was shocked to hear a bold lie from the girl's lips, especially one so flawlessly delivered while under pressure. What surprised the cat faunus most, however, was how Miltiades smiled, as if she enjoyed the girl's butter-wouldn't-melt trickery. But the twin in the white dress couldn't pick the dissemblance and so she nodded in satisfaction.

"That will do I guess," she conceded, before going on to echo Ruby's promise.

"If you're making Ruby swear that," began Weiss slowly, but with an acidic edge to her voice. "Then I want an undertaking from Miltiades."

Ruby blinked and thought back to her conversations with the heiress. "Weiss," she warned quietly, frowning when the girl put up a hand to forestall her objection.

"From me, Weiss? And what would you want from me?" asked Miltiades curiously, tilting her head as if to get a fresh perspective on the fencer.

"I want you to keep your distance from Ruby," said Weiss, leading to a ripple of shock around the table and outright laughter from Miltiades.

The girl in question blushed incandescently and dropped her forehead onto the desk. "I can't believe you're embarrassing me like this," she said under her breath. Weiss shushed her irritably.

"And why do you want me to keep away, for my safety?" asked the green-eyed girl across the table, a wicked smile across her lips. Far from embarrassed, she thought the question was fascinating.

Yang coughed meaningfully. "Uh, Weiss...?" prodded the golden-haired brawler.

"I'll explain later," hissed Weiss in an aside that only her team, and Velvet, could hear.

"Now would be nice," replied Yang in the same tone with a deceptively friendly smile. It was hard for a protective older sister, after all, to be kept in the dark when Weiss was behaving so unexpectedly. The idea of Miltiades being a danger hadn't even occurred to her, and she had no idea why it had occurred to Weiss.

Weiss sighed and whispered back to Yang from behind her hand, "Now would be bad." She mouthed the name 'Velvet', by way of explanation.

"Oh, alright...," muttered Yang, glancing side-eyed at the faunus girl's prominent ears. She leaned back in her chair and let Melanie go ahead.

"First off," stated Melanie with her arms folded and eyes flashing dangerously. "I'd like some indication that there is any danger to Ruby from my sister. Seems to have all been the other way around, so far."

Jaune scratched at his head and said, "I'm pretty confused by what you guys mean…"

"Don't worry, Mel," waved off Miltiades. "How about this, Weiss," she mused. "I swear by Ruby's oath that me ending up in hospital was an accident, that I have no designs on her and will keep my distance."

Ruby sat back up quickly and had an ill-timed coughing fit. Her eyes flicked up at the older girl, who sat there with a horribly self-possessed air. Melanie was the aggressive one of the twins, but Miltiades was no shrinking violet. When she looked back at Ruby her comfortable smile seemed altogether dangerous. At the far end of the table, Blake and Velvet exchanged an alarmed look, wondering what the young woman was playing at by swearing by something that she knew was an outright lie.

"I still don't see what danger there is supposed-," began Melanie in frustration, before her sister cut her off.

"She isn't thinking of physical danger," explained the twin in red with an intense eye roll.

Melanie wore a blank look of surprise. "Eh? Then what ... _oh_." She shot Weiss one of the filthiest looks Ruby had ever seen on a person. "Oh, you can't be serious; after her!? Where in your fevered imagination did you dredge that out from? Have you _seen_ her girlfriend?"

Miltiades shot her sister a sharp look and nudged her hard. "Alice is not my girlfriend."

"She's close enough," fired back Melanie.

Silence fell around the table as people digested that revelation slowly.

"Wait, so then you're...," asked Pyrrha hesitantly of Miltiades.

"Don't trail off, just say it," prodded Miltiades with a mix of frustration, painful memories and a defiant pride.

"Lesbian," supplied Weiss as she folded her arms. The green-eyed girl with the claws sent a distinctly unfriendly smirk across the table. Ruby sighed softly next to Weiss, frustrated with her partner. The reaction around the rest of the table was surprise, however.

"Yeah, that," agreed Pyrrha softly, eyes flicking between Miltia and Weiss.

"Well done, Weiss," congratulated Melanie with dark sarcasm. "Did your daddy's spies get you a report on Miltia, or was that just all your catty friends in the school gossip network?"

"Latter," answered Weiss shamelessly, which earned her a disgusted snort. "Funny the differences you can have between twins, isn't it?"

"Your little friend already knew, have you been gossiping yourself?" replied Melanie to Weiss as she nodded at girl's younger partner.

Jaune dropped his fist onto the heavy wood table like he was tolling a bell, and a deep boom reverberated through the room, shocking the students back into silence. "That's enough. Weiss, you're way over the line," he admonished, in a way that he would never have managed a few months ago, before he had learned to lead his team.

That led to the start of an immediate protest by Weiss, but Ruby put a hand on her shoulder and quietly told her to settle down, which the girl did reluctantly.

"I think we have enough agreement to carry on safely," suggested Jaune hesitantly. "Let's not turn around and unravel it all with ambushes and surprises and stuff."

"Surprises?" asked Miltiades quietly. "Ah, I see, that's what I am."

"That's not what I-," began Jaune before Miltiades waved his objection aside with a feminine little flutter of her hand.

"Well, if that surprised you, then let me really give you something to think on, Jaune," she said in a soft, distant voice, before she turned a keen gaze upon the RWBY girls. When she passed over them all, she looked back at the JNPR leader. "I'm not the only one swinging that way, you know. There are...," she began, before stopping and glancing at Lie Ren. "Uh, Ren, sorry but, are you straight only?" She got a dirty look from Nora, and a dry yet amused look from Ren, but eventually got an affirmative nod. "There are four people in this room who are exclusively into girls."

A sharp freeze took the room. Jaune knew he shouldn't reply, but his mouth just got out ahead of his brain again. "Wait, me, Ren ... you ... and who?" he asked in confusion.

"Would anyone like to come out to the table?" asked Miltia, being careful to not look at any particular girl. When several seconds passed without comment, she sighed a little. "Well, keep your privacy; I'm not the sort of consummate jerk to out an unwilling person in front of all their colleagues."

"I didn't out you," shot back Weiss angrily.

Miltiades just shrugged back. Everyone at the table, including Weiss herself, knew that was exactly what the ivory-haired girl had done, and most of them suspected it was maliciously done. "I wonder, if you knew about me, then...," she mused to Weiss. "You know who it is, don't you?" Weiss said nothing in reply and Miltiades snickered. "I thought so."

"I really wish you'd stop humouring her," complained Melanie. "Grimm and Dust, if we're getting undertakings for stuff outside of missions, wow, the things I could ask you guys for! Maybe, say, a promise from Yang that she no longer has anything to do with her old friends at The Kennel. Or an undertaking from you Weiss, no getting on the society girl special? Maybe an undertaking that you're no longer part of that racist little corporate war with the faunus groups your daddy has going? All things we'd love to hear for our peace of mind!"

"Corporate war? Is that what you call being a prominent target for terrorist attacks?" scoffed Weiss as she seethed. She really didn't want to get into that fight, but she knew she had to respond with something after how Melanie labelled it.

"Enough, Melanie!" snapped Velvet angrily, being snapped out of her reverie by the mention of faunus. "You're making things worse, not better. Just stop it! We have what we need." She dropped to a whisper for Melanie's ears only, "You gain nothing by this. That last thing you want is for them to find out how much you know about them, or that their pasts are on your mind."

As she went on, Ruby felt someone watching her. When she glanced around, to her surprise she realised she was getting a look from Pyrrha Nikos. As Melanie and Velvet raged on, Ruby turned her attention to the red-headed young woman, giving her a questioning look. When Pyrrha knew the younger girl was looking back, she mouthed 'You?' Ruby gave her an angry look, mouthing back, 'Go away!' The hostile response caught Pyrrha by surprise, and she held up her hands placatingly.

"Fine," said Melanie, drawing in and exhaling a deep breath. "Fine. We'll work together for now."

"Awesome," drawled Jaune, before making his promises to cooperate on behalf of Team Juniper. "Alright, I think we're pretty much good to go. Any last suggestions before we go?"

Ruby looked around at her peers and tried to work up the nerve to bring up the idea she had been harbouring since the day of the ill-fated field assignment. It was hard though, and Weiss undercutting her authority by going rogue had just made her all the more hesitant. But just as Jaune was about to declare the matter closed, Yang reached over and prodded Ruby, forcing her to just put the idea out there.

"Ah! We should go on a Grimm hunt," blurted Ruby breathily.

"Huh? Why?" asked Aurea in confusion. "I'm sure Port will give us enough Grimm hunting as it is."

"I don't mean one of Port's excursions to find a Grimm, pick someone to fight it and ooh, aah, everyone politely applauds," refuted Ruby. "I mean pick an area with a lot of Grimm, like the north snowfields or Hell's Kitchen Heights, something like a Beowolf pack, pick a drop-off point and a pick-up point and we just let our sweethearts do the talking. You know, where we _have _to fight as a team."

"Sweethearts?" asked Lie Ren. After a moment his eyes lit up. "Oh, wait, you mean weapons. I can see the appeal of the plan. War may be based on deception, but the body tells no lies in battle."

"Yeah, I mean, think about it," began Ruby with a rising excitement in her voice, like a train gaining steam. She raised her hands and began to gesture wildly. "Us and Juniper are on really good terms. How did it all start? We fought as comrades. We saved each other's bacon against an elder Deathstalker and Nevermore. It was big, it was awesome, we blew up most of a set of ancient ruins, but we got it done and had fun doing it."

"So…?" asked Melanie slowly.

"So she thinks being on the same side in a scrap could help us bridge some of these differences," explained Velvet. "So she wants us to go find a nice horrible monster to whale on in order to have a common enemy who isn't each other."

"I like it!" declared Nora. "There's nothing like a mutual appreciation of explosions to build bridges between people! And to blow up real bridges too, come to think of it."

"Yeah, that," agreed Ruby with a big, cheesy grin. "Whaddya say?"

"It sounds like a good idea to me," said Pyrrha with an optimistic smile. Lie Ren and Aurea both assented as well.

Yang cracked her knuckles loudly and grinned. "You can tell we're related; it's a plan after my own heart."

"Well, alright, I'm in," agreed Melanie who, although less thrilled by battle as some others around the table, could see the potential benefits. "But one of you guys gets to talk to the teachers about letting us do this. I'm not sticking my neck out for that."

Jaune sat back and looked at his peers. "Alright, do we all think we have a reasonable chance to surviving each other's company until the end of the semester at least?" He got a series of lukewarm responses, but decided to stay positive about it. "Good! Alright then, it's a Friday afternoon, we're done with classes, so no point hanging around in boring library rooms, time to go find some fun!"

This got a storm of enthusiastic cheers.

"Meeting adjourned!"

* * *

><p>Blake left the meeting room along with the rest of the all-female teams, piling out and going their separate ways. Finally she pushed her arms out and allowed herself a deep and satisfying stretch. When she felt her ears twitch under her bow, however, she blushed and stopped, and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. When no one appeared to be pointing and whispering, she relaxed.<p>

"Blake!" exclaimed Yang as she dropped an arm across the girl's shoulder. "I've had enough of this place, and of being nice to jerks."

"Oh, God's Horns! You scared me," said Blake, wondering how on earth someone as loud as Yang had managed to get the drop on her. The imprecation was an ancient faunus one, that would have possibly gotten Blake into strife had Weiss been there to hear it instead of Yang.

"Aww, poor girl," teased the blonde girl. "Well, I have just the answer to frayed nerves."

"So, you want to go ahead with your pub crawl, then?" asked Blake with a roll of the eyes.

"Yes, and you want to come with me, of course," said Yang, hands on her hips and leaning in with a wink. "Come on, we don't have class tomorrow, you can sleep in."

"Hmm," considered Blake with her arms folded and eyes lidded. "You can't say for sure that we can sleep in when Ruby is around; who knows when she'll decide what the whole team needs is some extra training."

Yang waved a hand dismissively. "If sis wakes us up, then we'll give her an extra training session by throwing her out of the dorm, so how about it?"

"Alright, but you have to promise that next time we go in, you take the bike out of storage and show me around Vale City," replied Blake.

Her partner stuck a hand out and grinned with a great half-moon smile. "Deal!"

* * *

><p>"So how did you think that went?" asked Jaune pensively as he hunched over the meeting table. "Did I save our bacon, or are we screwed?"<p>

"I think it worked, Jaune," replied Pyrrha, the only other person left in the room. She leaned forward over the table and crossed her arms, watching her partner mull over the results of his intervention. "Look, you were never going to make them become friends in a meeting."

"I know, the whole thing just went really angry though," said Jaune with a sigh. "I should have … you know, taken over. Interrupted."

"Maybe that would have helped, maybe it wouldn't have," dismissed Pyrrha. "But even if you had made them stop arguing, do you think it would have made them like each other more all of a sudden?"

"Well, no," defended the boy in surprise. "But, I mean, arguing only got them more upset with each other, so..."

"They're not upset with each other over an argument, you realise," pointed out the red-head in exasperation. "Don't look at symptoms and think they're causes."

"I don't follow."

Pyrrha chewed at the inside of her cheek as she looked at the young man. "They didn't just randomly decide to have an argument and making them shut up wasn't going to make that reason go away. You wouldn't have helped anyone by trying to shut up Melanie or Weiss."

"I'd have gotten my head bitten off even more," he said with a shudder. "Those two are the scariest of the lot."

"You'll go in on your own against an Ursa Major and yet you're scared of two teenage girls," laughed Pyrrha, though even she knew it was an unfair comparison. For one thing, most of the girls in the group would have taken out the Ursa Major far more easily.

"They have bite," pointed out the blonde. "Weiss is so … direct, and Melanie is just so angry."

"Yes, she's angry, alright," said the young woman with a nod. "But the anger, and the argument, and everything else, is tied into what passed between the two teams' members before they came to Beacon. And I think if we're ever going to get more than a temporary truce out of our friends, we're going to need to get to the bottom of what happened between Weiss and Melanie, what Yang was up to and … I don't even know what's up with Ruby and Miltiades."

"Well, how are we supposed to do that?" asked Jaune, his confusion turning to frustration.

"I can talk to the Maven girls. You're already friends with most of the Ruby girls, go start talking to them," suggested Pyrrha. "Just … try to be a bit subtle, okay?" Immediately she began to sigh inwardly at the idea of her partner being subtle, but she had to get him to try. "I'm just glad that Blake and Velvet seem to get along and don't appear to have any ugly history."

* * *

><p>At a bar in the working class districts of southern Vale City, a tall and athletic man dropped two pint glasses upon a table. A red-haired rabbit faunus, he didn't stand out in the bar, whose patronage was mostly faunus. This extended to the sheep faunus man at the booth, to whom he slid a pint glass toward.<p>

"Mark," greeted the sheep faunus as he took up the glass and drank down a long draught. "I tell you, it's been too long, too long. We should have done this a long time ago. For a social purpose, ideally."

"Trevor," greeted the long-eared man as he settled in with his lager. "Been at least a year, hasn't it?"

"That it has," confirmed the other man. Both men were middle aged with many careworn lines in their face and the defiant looks of those whom the world had tried and failed to beat down. Their eyes were keen and bright below mottled brows. Trevor was short but burly, with deep brown hair and a cloth cap between his curling ram's ears.

"How's the family?" asked the red-headed faunus.

"How would I know, Mark, I work for a living," replied Trevor, only half-joking. "Nah, it's been good. Just been trying to keep my idiot daughter from getting too close to some neighbourhood kids that I'm told you-know-who is trying to recruit."

"Ah, that talk," noted Mark grimly. "Nervous times for an old man."

"And how's Saffron and the girl?" asked Trevor. "I seem to recall she was going to Beacon."

"Yeah, Saffron is doing well, has that café running like a machine," praised Mark. "Yeah, Velvet is at Beacon, sounds like it's pretty hectic. Actually, it was the girl I wanted to talk to you about."

"No, Mark," said the man grimly. "No matter how desperate you all are, I'm not being her date to the school ball," he refused with a dead straight face.

Mark took a long drink, savouring the crisp, bitter amber. When he dropped the pint glass back onto the table he snorted. "Thanks, fuckwit," he swore across the table.

The pejorative slid off Trevor's back like water. "Being bullied is she? Need ol' Uncle Trevor to put a hard word to someone?"

"Nah, she's sorted out the bullying on her own," explained Mark with a chuckle. "But her team got moved about. They're with some new people now and I wanted to pick your brain about one of them."

"Whatcha got?" asked Trevor in a deep, rumbling bass.

Mark took a photo from an inside pocket of his jacket and slid it across the table along with a sheet with a name on it. "This is the one."

"Pretty little thing, wouldn't have thought she's the sort for a combat school," grunted Trevor. "But then, I didn't think Velvet was either. Got a familiar look to her. Can't place it, though. Who is she?"

"Her name is Blake Belladonna; at least, that's what she's going by at the moment," explained Mark.

"Well, that sounds ominous," noted Trevor. "Not what she appears to be then, is it?"

Mark nodded. "Cat faunus, passing as human," he said. "Background is paper thin that I can see. But she fights with a VBCS, expertly, and fed Velvet a line about pretending to be human because she has a lot of enemies."

"Ah, the old Victor-Bravo. A hidden past, many enemies, all the rest," noted Trevor as he folded his arms across his broad chest. "So, you think your girl has an ex-terrorist on her hands."

"I _hope_ that Velvet has an ex-terrorist on her hands," retorted Mark. "I'm worried that she has a _current_ terrorist on her hands."

"Sleeper? Ahh, fair enough," said Trevor, sitting up straighter. "Good point. You need some bushes rustled, trees shaken? A few ears whispered into?"

"Not yet," said Mark with a smirk and a dismissive wave. Trevor grunted and drank some more of his beer, waiting for the explanation. "I was just wondering if you had seen her before, I know you had to deal with a few organisations in your time. I'm trying to keep things as quiet as I can; I'm sure you can understand why."

"Of course, Mark, of course," reassured Trevor. "She … feels familiar, I'll grant you that, but I can't pick why just yet. Anything else?"

"Her weapon is in the Atlas style," added Mark. "Velvet hasn't picked up a specific style of fighting yet."

"Well, that's a less common pattern in Vale," noted Mark. "Let's see. I can think of three groups with a smith who can make a VBCS in the three-form Atlas fashion, and also have the right sorta trainer." He held up a hand and began to tick off his fingers. "One of them is harmless, just survivalists, really. Second; the Vale Faunus Liberation Front, who are … let's call 'em fairly dangerous. If she came outta the VFLM, this Blake will probably fight in the Sheltering Wind School, since that's what the instructor there teaches. Katherine Elderwillows is her name."

"And the third?" asked Mark.

Trevor grimaced like he'd bitten a lemon. "White Fang itself. The chain scythe instructor there is Ilyich, he teaches a style he calls the Blood-Dimmed Tide, which is, heh, unfriendly even by VBCS standards."

"And if it's not one of those two, then she's probably clean?" asked Mark.

"Unless she's out of Mistral, or Vacuo, or something like that. But yeah, that's what I reckon," explained Trevor.

"Thanks, I appreciate the information," said Mark.

"Hey, Mark," said the sheep faunus leaning in close and whispering. "You didn't hear this from me, okay, but I did hear the Fang had someone do a runner on them a few months back. Might be coincidence, might not, but there it is."

Mark nodded and then finished off his lager. "Great, thanks, I appreciate this Trevor."

"You're an old friend, Mark, your appreciation and this pint is all I need. Happy to help your girl out."

* * *

><p>Further down the hall, Ruby and Weiss walked past several aisles of books in silence. The team leader wouldn't look at the ivory-haired girl, and her posture was tense, anxious and angry. After a minute, Weiss bit down on a sigh and came to a halt. Ruby immediately rounded on her, a look of deep frustration on her face.<p>

Weiss held up a forestalling hand. "I know. I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Ruby froze with a word half-way past her lips. She looked at the other girl for a long while, an inner turmoil clearly visible on her face. But Weiss' sudden and pre-emptive apology left her flatfooted. She wasn't sure what to say, and just exhaled and leaned against one of the shelves.

"You want to chew me out," noted Weiss with a deeply contrite look. It wasn't a question. Weiss was self-aware enough to know she had crossed the line repeatedly, and embarrassed Ruby in her role as leader. But it was one thing to know you were doing something wrong, and another entirely to find a way to stop. And sometimes, despite all of her intellect, things developed in ways she didn't expect.

The heiress had never meant to extend her partner's neck that far.

"Yes. Wait, no. I don't ... maybe, look, I'm still deciding," blurted Ruby in a rush. "I can't believe you did that. To her. To … well, to me!" She threw her hands up in the air. "Pyrrha looked straight to me, you know."

"I didn't think that was going to happen," admitted Weiss. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."

"And I was already trying to show I was leading my team and that you guys were behind me," added Ruby. "Then you sprang all that on me. Now they all probably think I'm a figurehead!"

"That's nonsense, none of them think that," snapped back the girl in ice blue. Weiss bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say. "Melanie wants to make me pay."

"No, she thinks you're after her!" complained Ruby softly. "I've talked with Pyrrha; she says you put Melanie on edge."

"Look, I can see it in her eyes, trust me, I know she's after me." An arrogant little smirk crossed Weiss' face. "She just hasn't got the dirt to do it." She threw a look over her shoulder to check for anyone close enough to eavesdrop before she leaned in close to whisper, "I just don't know if she knows where to look."

Ruby's eyes went wide as she digested that comment. She ran a hand along Crescent Rose's chassis for reassurance. "What are you saying?" she asked, but Weiss seemed to ignore the question entirely.

"You need to go pick up your back-up blade in Vale City, right?" asked Weiss, blatantly diverting from the topic.

"Yeah, that's right," replied Ruby through a displeased frown. "Plus some goodies that I still need to pay for."

"Meet me at the airship in an hour; we'll go pick those up," decided Weiss, looking at Ruby only out of the corner of her eye. "You'll want those before we have this mission, right? And I'm not done fixing up your wardrobe, so we have a couple things to get through."

Ruby stood and stared at her partner for a moment, before she allowed herself a smile. Weiss wasn't deflecting, she was sure. They would go into the city and sort this out. "Alright, I'll see you at the station then."


	6. Paint the Town White

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for pushing me over 2,500 views! Much appreciated! I've had to split this chapter in two, since it was just growing too large (and its already a bit absurd). Action will be starting to come back into the story steadily from here on out. Thanks again to my proofreaders.**

A crowd of students looking forward to spending a Friday night over the strait in Vale City filled the airship terminal, milling around the masonry as they waited their turn to board the 2:45 to Vale City. Some were looking to go home to family, others were just looking to party. Of the students making their way onto the airship, Velvet and Miltiades were a partnership that planned the former. Behind them in line, Blake and Yang were beginning their ascent. A short while later, the two pairs both found themselves in the rear gallery watching Beacon Academy disappear across the bay, brilliantly backlit by the afternoon sun.

It was Velvet who first noticed the other pair, her ears picking up on Yang's bombastic tones and awful puns. "Oh, hey Yang, Blake," she called out, getting the attention of the two girls, even as Miltiades grimaced alongside her.

"Oh, Velvet, you're here?" asked Yang, pleasantly surprised. "Hi Miltiades," she added. Blake and Miltiades echoed the pleasantries and a slightly awkward silence fell upon the students.

"What are you guys up to?" asked Velvet to break the ice.

Yang turned to lean back against the handrail, spreading out as she smiled smokily. "After that week? Going to go let our hair down and party."

"Anywhere in mind?" asked Miltiades.

"Was going to play it by ear," admitted Yang.

"Typical," snorted Blake. "Charge first, think later."

"If you want a tip, I hear the Old Bones on the corner of Fitzroy and Balmain Streets is the place to be at the moment," suggested Miltiades, who knew more than her fair share of the establishments in town.

The blonde brawler gave the girl a speculative look, trying to gauge if she was on the level or not. Deciding that she was being honest, she turned out a brilliant smile. "I appreciate that, I'll let you know how it goes." She gestured to the two MAVM girls. "What about you two? Party time?"

"I've spent more than enough time around that sort of place, so no," replied Miltiades with a shrug. "Somewhere quieter for me, thanks."

"We're going to my folks' cafe," supplied Velvet. "They own a place down in Peppermint Grove." She saw the alarmed looks on the faces of the other girls and threw her hands up in irritation. "Oh come on, I know the place has a reputation, but it's full of crap. People just say it's full of crime because there's a high faunus population, but they never stop to think it over, they just assume," the rabbit faunus protested passionately. She paused, knowing she was getting worked up over it and tried to settle down, saying "Sorry, I don't mean to preach, it just gets under my skin."

Velvet settled back into her seat and sighed, letting some of her frustration go. "You two should come visit it sometime," she said to them both after a moment, although she was looking squarely at Blake when she said it. She paused and then coughed into her hand and admitted, "Weiss may want to give it a miss though; Schnees aren't very popular down that way."

"Yeah, maybe we'll go visit some day," said Yang. "I've been most places in Vale, but not that pocket before."

"How did you guys think the meeting went," asked Blake, deciding to tread on treacherous ground.

Velvet shrugged, her rabbit ears bouncing gently as she did so. "Well, it started okay, and ended okay, but I could have done without Weiss, Melanie, and also you," she said as she sharply nudged Miltiades with her elbow, "Getting into that big hissy fit." Miltiades muttered sullenly back at her, but Velvet ignored her and carried on. "I would have liked to see a bit more friendliness, but Weiss and Melanie just ... don't want to get along."

"Did I really get you guys fired?" asked Yang abruptly. "From Junior's Club, that is."

"Yes, Yang, we really got fired when all that went down," sighed Miltia. "Black-listed, even."

The blonde was stunned. "He black-listed you when both he and his army of goons couldn't drop me? What a jerk." She stood up a bit straighter and folded her arms. "So that's why you took the Beacon entrance exam."

"Yeah, scraped through by the skin of our teeth," admitted Miltiades. "In fact, I think they fudged it a little because they thought we had potential and I guess so far we've delivered on it."

"That must be why Melanie is so aggressive," deduced Blake. "You don't really have anything to fall back on."

The girl in the red dress just nodded. It was a truth they had already come to terms with.

Ruby was pacing back and forth across the docks, waiting for Weiss just as she had promised. Trudging along in her battle dress and cape with Crescent Rose at her back, she looked more suited to facing down a Beowolf than an inner-city restaurant. But Weiss had neglected to specify casual clothes, so Ruby was sticking by her habits, thank you very much. Weiss was late, surprisingly, and the 3:15 airship to Vale was already starting to accepting passengers, though it still had twenty minutes to departure. So Ruby paced aimlessly, completely unable to sit still and wait patiently.

"Come on, Weiss, what's keeping you?" she muttered to herself, anxious to get on the airship already.

To her right was a low wall that leaned out over the seas below, in a drop not far enough to kill someone with a half-way decent aura, but certainly far enough to make sure no one was careless enough to fall over twice. The young scythe wielder's incessant pacing led her by the wall, but she paid it and the people sitting on it little mind until a crystalline blue broadsword crashed down in front of her. Purely on reflex Crescent Rose bloomed into a tail-spike first defensive stance, making the shift in a heartbeat.

"Oh my," came a young woman's voice in the most precise enunciation that she had ever heard. "Please settle down, Ruby, I just wished to get your attention."

Ruby's blinked in shock as she regarded the unfamiliar girl who somehow knew her name. She had to admit, running into strangers who seemed to know her was starting to get very annoying. But when she looked at her carefully, she realised the girl was not unfamiliar at all.

The new student was as genteel as anyone Ruby had ever seen, matching a voice so precisely spoken that even Ozpin and Goodwitch sounded working-class by comparison. Big blue-eyes sat in a gorgeous face that sported a playful smile and high cheeks. Long blonde hair was held back by an innocuous-seeming white head-band. Another combat skirt aficionado, her dress was powder blue, with a snow white cuirass across her chest, and white trim. A vivid red utility belt wound around her waist, marked with little red rabbits and white hearts.

She was sat upon the low wall, with her knees, and tall, lace-up black boots pressed together delicately. A two-handed sword resting across her lap, all crystalline blue with organic lines. The weapon seemed to cinch in at the middle of the five-foot blade, around a metal block along the centre-line. Being a complete weapon junkie, Ruby recognised the intent; a secondary hilt with which the weapon could split into a pair of swords instead of just the one long sword. There was a glassy cylinder that ran through the length of the weapon, as well as a variety of extraneous pieces and dust vials that made Ruby wonder if the sword had other functions as well.

"She's beautiful," gasped Ruby in awe.

"Oh, my! You're too k... oh, wait," said the girl in surprise that lasted until she realised that Ruby was actually looking at her weapon. She sighed with feeling and stood to her feet, raising her weapon so it rose point first in the air. "Her name is Cheshire Silver, if you're interested," she introduced in that perfectly enunciated voice.

"Variant-Wield Sword," catalogued Ruby. When she saw the girl in blue shake her head with a playful smile, she held up a hand to forestall the answer. "Wait, that centre-line, the dust in that v-formation... Oh, it's a pulse rifle transform," she breathed in awe. "Variant-Wield Pulse Sword," she declared proudly.

Those big blue eyes went wide as saucers. "Oh, you are good, Miss Rose, you are very good. My friend, Miltiades, said you were a prodigy with weapons and I can see she was not embellishing." She pulled her sword to one side and extended a hand to Ruby, who was having a hard time not openly preening with the praise. "Alice Sgathan, at your service."

"Yes, I know," replied Ruby just a little cockily. "Heiress of the Sgathan House Weaponworks Consortium. You're also Miltiades' girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Best not to say that around Miltia, she's a bit of a commitment-phobe, I think," noted Alice with her adventurous eyes sparkling. "I guess I'm not quite that exalted yet." She shrugged nonchalantly. "But I like to think I'm close. She has been distant the last few days, though."

"You know, you were a cult figure to many of us at Signal; we were all fans of your family's weapons," gushed Ruby as her cool continued to slip. Being the darling heir apparent of one of the most popular weaponry firms, the girl was a pop star to those in Signal Academy. With Ruby's weapon fascination bordering on the unhealthy, she was far from immune to the mania.

A deep, disgusted sigh announced Weiss's arrival to the airship terminal. "Unbelievable, Ruby," complained her partner as she walked up to the dark-haired girl's side, heels clicking methodically on the stone terminal. "You knew the heir to Sgathan House on sight, but not the Schnee Dust Company? I can't help but be offended."

Ruby looked over her shoulder and gave Weiss a look. "I only use dust as gun propellant, so the dust companies didn't fascinate me. But the weapon houses: Sgathan, Holden, Subiaco, those I knew. Subscribed to newsletters, went to expos, snuck into product launches, everything."

"Oh, Weiss, you're here, too," exclaimed Alice merrily. "Whatever did you do to my poor Miltia, Weiss? She was in such a state when I saw her last. Swearing like I didn't even know she could as I passed her. About you, of course, and your injudicious tongue," she finished, dropping into an imperious, accusing tone, as if she were a judge at court.

"What can I say, I guess things got a little heated and we traded blows," replied Weiss with a shrug, betraying none of the guilt over the incident that she felt within. "Both myself and the Malachites trod onto ground we now wish we hadn't, and so we both showed our claws. Don't expect me to apologise simply because they regret it more."

"You outed Miltia to the whole group," said Ruby pointedly, her anger of that incident returning swiftly at the reminder.

"I see," said Alice, much more coldly as she looked at her peer. "I didn't tell you about us so you could try and use it against her, you know."

Ruby blinked her bright, silver eyes in surprise as she digested that comment. When Melanie had laid the accusation that Weiss had found out that due to gossiping, catty friends, she hadn't expected that Miltia's own maybe-girlfriend had been the one to actually give up the secret.

"I didn't...," began Weiss before she trailed off in a sigh. She looked between the other two girls. "Come on, that wasn't how it happened. And anyway, no one there has a problem with it." Something dark passed behind Weiss' eyes as she returned Alice's look. "Besides, if I was aiming to be cruel, I wouldn't have let slip that she was dating a girl, I'd have let slip that she was dating a society girl. Melanie is going to go ballistic when she realises what you are; you know how she hates girls like us."

"I am optimistic that by the time Melanie figures it out, she'll be too attached to me to try to get Miltiades to break up with me," said Alice nonchalantly. "I have faith in my charms."

Weiss shrugged. "Come on, Ruby, boarding closes in ten minutes."

"Do you mind going on ahead for a moment?" asked Alice. "I really wanted to see if I could take a look at this scythe. Professional interest, you see. We can't really swing it around inside the ship."

Weiss glanced at Ruby, who nodded back. "Fine, just make sure you get on the ship. I'll be in the forward gallery." The young fencer was perfectly aware she was about to become a topic of discussion, but by the same token, there wasn't really any point objecting. If she stopped them now, Alice or Ruby would inevitably find another opportunity to talk, and it would probably happen on a day where she wouldn't have an entire evening to clear up any confusion that arose. So with a long suffering sigh she walked off and waited to see what she would eventually need to repay Alice for.

"You wanted to see Crescent Rose?" asked Ruby.

"That's its name, then? Yes, please," replied Alice. "It's a fascinating looking weapon. You said you were Signal alumni?"

"Alumni?" said Ruby as she held out her sweetheart for inspection.

"Graduate," explained Alice absently as she ran her fingers along the outer chassis and joints. "Your work with the articulation is nothing short of marvellous. All Signal students forge their own, if I recall, so this would be your handiwork?"

"That's the tradition," confirmed Ruby. "I went a little overboard with the design, I'll admit, but it's been worth it. I hand-made the chassis, shaft, blade-mounts, lugs and fixings, plating, spike and a few other components. The blades I get made for me in Vale. I used to forge my own blades as well, but when I started to be able to handle a longer shaft, greater calibres and stronger battle-loads of dust in my shells, the blades would fracture far too easily. I just didn't have the facilities for something that could handle hitting metal at the speed of sound. So I started getting them made for me. I stopped trying to make my own pins and locks after a couple weeks," she admitted with a laugh. "There's just no way to make a pin strong enough without a laboratory."

"I would assume you didn't make the motors, either," checked Alice, as even Signal Academy wasn't that much of a stickler for weapons.

"Not individually," agreed Ruby, "Though I make a point of buying things as low-level as I can, and then assembling it all myself. So the wiring is mine, and the dust conversion generator and all the rest."

The professional continued to expertly inspect the weapon, analysing angles, mechanisms, junctions, getting Ruby to shift the weapon between its forms and natures. With every passing beginner's mistake averted, innovation recognised and potential inferred, Alice's eyes grew wider and wider, even as her voice became quiet with amazement.

"This is astounding work, Miss Ruby, I'm speechless," said Alice in hushed, awe-struck tones. "I've never seen a weapon like this. And I'm good friends with the man who handles scythes at the company. He's a full-time professional, and this would, in all honesty, be beyond him. None of our scythes are its equal. In fact, I think if I were to show this to him, he would probably resign."

"I don't even know what to say," admitted Ruby as she beamed, almost beside herself with pride that someone like Alice had given her work so glowing a review. It seemed too good to be true and she had to give the older girl a suspicious look. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"

Alice looked up and turned concerned and questioning eyes on Ruby. "A more efficient man-killer I have never seen, and I have spent every day of my life in the company of killing instruments. This could cut through humans like butter, and I daresay I have yet to see a Grimm that could withstand its violence." She looked back at the weapon as her voice dropped to a low mutter while she said, "I wonder what it feels like to be the Grim Reaper, or to be a chooser of the slain?" Shaking her head, she looked back at Ruby to ask, "May I inquire who advised you when you were making it?"

"My Uncle Qrow, my scythe teacher," replied Ruby, her pride quickly withering into an uncomfortable self-judgement. She knew she had somewhat overdone it on the weapon, but was it really as bad as that? If you wanted to protect someone you needed a tool of the utmost precision, and for all of its ungainly appearance, she had that in Crescent Rose. By this stage she could reliably drive the scythe's beak into an area the size of a Lien card at full steam. And what it couldn't cut, probably couldn't be pierced without a plasma torch and a lot of patience.

"Ohhh," murmured Alice in a long, drawn out sound. "I know him. That explains much. You fight in his style, then?"

"Yeah, well, I base it on Uncle's, but I go my own way on a few things," explained Ruby, who considered her combat style to be something of a private topic, so tied up in it was she.

"Of course. It's a very dangerous style, but so powerful when you master it." Alice contemplated her words for a while, an anxious silence settling. "You know, people tell me that the eyes are the window to the souls, but I've never been good with eyes," confessed Alice. "But show me a person's weapons, and I can tell you what makes that person tick." She ran her hands slowly down the barrel of Crescent Rose to the rifle action. "I could tell you what I see, if you like."

"Alice... You know, I don't think I want to know," answered Ruby honestly, which got a sly, knowing look from the older student.

"Ha! I don't think I need to tell you, do I? It's plain to see that you've been in battle's crucible," said Alice in a haunting voice. She added in a voice low and slow, "You already know who you are when everything is stripped away; all pretense, all civility, all restraint." She shook her head. "My dear Miltiades claims to know who you really are, but I wonder if she truly understands your essence. If you'd like some advice, don't be afraid to go to Weiss if you ever need to talk to someone about it. She has many secrets of her own, so I am sure she will be sympathetic to you, no matter what you're hiding. What with those faunus bastards, and rival dust companies, Miss Schnee knows the dance more than most."

Alice stopped herself and put a hand over her mouth. "Oh, sorry, I shouldn't say that. 'Faunus bastards', I mean, I shouldn't say that. Force of habit. Don't tell Miltia's partner, will you? Velvet's such a sweetheart, after all, I would never want to hurt her feelings. But the White Fang and others have been nibbling at us lately and it does become so hard to keep your sense of fairness when you are in the dance yourself."

"What do you mean by the dance?" muttered Ruby.

"Signal students would know it as 'the Grind', if I remember correctly," translated the swordswoman. "Do you know the term?"

"Yes," was all Ruby said, face neutral.

"Same concept," said Alice. "When a person is in the dance, they are testing themselves in battle. Us society girls just like to be a touch more flowery in our mannerisms. Our stakes can be surprisingly high, however. Corporate espionage, faunus counter-terrorism, feuds, vendettas, oh so many duels. Of course, it is still considered very poor form to kill a peer!"

Well, that was a term Ruby knew. The Grind was a catch-all term at Signal Academy for all the manifold ways in which a student warrior could put his or her developing skills to use, be it unsanctioned tournament fighting, picking street brawls, foolhardy crime fighting, gang affiliated battle, or any other way a student could frequently come to grips with another in battle, be it fair or foul.

School administrators at Signal, and similarly at Beacon, did not approve of it, but knew well enough that people who were learning abilities and powers would inevitably want to put them into practice in some fashion, and that auras and youthful hesitation provided a strong safety net to premature misadventure. As a result, a blind eye was largely turned to the practice as long as it wasn't done in school uniform. Avoiding this potential issue was a large part of Beacon's insistence that students on leave passes not wear their class uniforms.

"Can I ask you something, Alice?" said Ruby anxiously.

"Yes, Miss Ruby?" she responded in that bell-like voice.

"You were in the same circles as Weiss?" dark-haired girl.

"Well, yes, though I was in less rarefied air; the Schnees are ludicrously wealthy, we Sgathans are merely absurdly wealthy," replied Alice with a self-effacing smile. "But I knew her all the same. Do you have a question about Weiss?" she asked gently. When Ruby nodded, she added, "Something you're afraid to ask her yourself?"

"What's a 'society girl special'?" asked the concerned team leader, hoping it was something innocent, dreading that it wasn't.

Alice's brows shot up as she glanced back at Ruby. "Why do you ask? Did Weiss offer it to you?" she asked in a voice part-concerned and part-bemused. "It's worth trying out, but I'd suggest giving it a wide berth after that. It's quite the expensive habit." She glanced over towards Crescent Rose and amended, "Well, maybe not as pricey as that scythe of yours, but still not for the faint-hearted."

"No, Weiss didn't mention it." Ruby shrugged and forced herself to continue. "Melanie said she should get Weiss to promise to stay away from it while our teams are working together."

Alice nearly laughed herself silly as they passed into the hull of the airship. "She really asked that in front of Weiss' team? And the Mistral tournament girl?" she queried, trying to rein in her laughter. "Naughty, Melanie, very naughty. Well would she have known how much that would have gotten under Weiss' skin."

"Whaddya mean?" asked Ruby with a frown.

"Because, my little belle, she was asking Weiss to refrain from indulging in champagne and cocaine," answered the older girl with a winsome grin.

"Wh-wh-what?" stammered Ruby, coming to a halt. "Why would she...?"

"Exactly!" exclaimed Alice in terrible mirth. "Even if she had never touched them, it would be a terrible sort of, 'have you stopped beating your wife yet,' question. As it is, the moment ... I think her name is Nikoh?"

"You mean Pyrrha Nikos?" supplied Ruby reflexively and woodenly.

"Thank you, Miss Ruby," replied Alice with a dignified nod. "The moment that Pyrrha finds out the special is the same thing as what our counterparts in Mistral call the sparkles, she is going to rain down self-righteous misery on Weiss. To be honest, I suspect it will be a race to be the first to clue her in while keeping what the courtiers call 'plausible deniability'. If I may ask, though, do you know what made good Miss Malachite ask that in front of everyone? Even by that young lady's lofty standards, it's an aggressive move."

Ruby thought back to the meeting and the undertaking Weiss had asked of Miltia. Then she glanced at Cheshire Silver as it hung from Alice's back. 'Yeah, no, I don't think so,' she thought to herself. "It was because of outing Miltiades I believe," she said as innocently as she could. "She made a few comments and then s'more comments and everyone went two plus two equals Miltia likes girls, but that's totally okay. I think she'd look cute with a girl, don't you?" A moment later her mind caught up with her mouth and she realised that her last comment might be taken strangely by Alice, given she was that other girl.

"Of course! Well, I think we look cute together, anyway," agreed Alice, with a playful wink thrown in.

Feeling that she had safely deflected Alice's question without having to tell her about the 'keep your distance' undertaking, Ruby took the moment to try and get her own questions answered. "Uh, wait, sorry, can we please go back to the special thingie," asked Ruby, almost twitching with agitation. She knew she needed answers to this question that she could be sure of before she talked to Weiss about it. "C'mon, Alice, no silliness, just tell me straight, okay?"

"The society girl special, or just the special, is a night out getting absolutely euphoric with the help of a Vale trust fund girl's best friends," answered Alice as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Champagne and cocaine, and be sure to read between the lines whenever one of us starts discussing anything that rhymes with them. Really, it's what we do best, apart from gossip, backstab, seduce and carry on the dance. I suppose we are a boring set, in the end, but it helps us stay thin."

"No way," snapped Ruby in a flat, frustrated voice, silver-eyes flared wide. "That's absurd, Weiss would never...," she tried to say before descending into spluttering protest. "No, I've never seen any sign of use from Weiss and I've known her since the start of school term! If she was into that, I would have seen something by now."

"Never say never, mademoiselle," cut off Alice, trying to hide how much she enjoyed what she was doing to Ruby's impression of Weiss with her revelations, and generally failing in the attempt. "But not lately, I'll grant you. There was a delicious scandal during a festival in Mistral a few months before the start of school term that made her boring." She stopped and turned around again with a faux surprised expression. "Oh, sorry, did I say boring? Not boring, I meant clean. Made her go 'clean'. Anywho, be careful if you ask her about it, the last girl who did ended up in a duel and left the ball in the care of medical professionals."

"No way, that doesn't...," began Ruby, before trailing off despairingly. "Alice, are you lying to me to cause trouble with Weiss?" she asked pleadingly.

"Oh, Ruby," cooed Alice as she opened the door to the front gallery. She looked inside and they saw Weiss standing at the very front, looking out over the sea, alone and brilliant, like a lighthouse against a night sky. "After hearing that Weiss embarrassed poor Miltia like that, I would love nothing more than to drop her in it and share every last scandal and secret that I know with you, just to pay her back. But I won't make any trouble today, and neither will I lie."

"Why?"

Alice leaned over and whispered from behind her hand. "Because, like every other girl in the scene, I am absolutely terrified of Weiss Schnee. You would have to ply me with copious quantities of champagne if you wanted those sorts of answers." A coy look slipped over her face. "I wouldn't mind a pretty thing like you treating me, really, but fair warning, Miss Rose, I am a very pricey drunk." She began to step back from the black-clad girl. Her hand reached up for a silver chain that hung around her neck before disappearing down the front of her dress, and pulled on it to bring free a silver heart pendant that glittered in the harsh artificial light. "Don't worry about the other bit, though, I keep my own supply close."

"You!?" gasped Ruby in disbelief. "But you..."

"Look like such a goody-two-shoes?" asked Alice with a teasing wink. "Of course I do; in fact, we all do, your friend Weiss no less than the rest of us. Looking like trouble is for gangsters and thugs, not girls like us. Do you think we would be able to get away with half as much as we do if we didn't look like saints instead of sinners?" She laughed in a voice that sparkled magically in Ruby's ears. "Why do you look surprised? You're no different, Ruby. Do you think you would have gotten so much benefit of the doubt about your intentions when you struck down Miltiades if you looked like, say, Cardin?"

With that she turned and left. Ruby washed a hand slowly over her face, shaking her head. It had been a troubling conversation. One in which the girl deeply hoped Alice had lied throughout. She walked up to Weiss and joined her at the railing. But when she went to speak, Weiss held up a hand and shook her head.

"She said things that you're upset about, didn't she?" speculated Weiss.

"I'm not upset," said Ruby firmly. "You're my friend. I'm just confused, and I want to hear what you have to say."

"Look, I don't know what Alice said," admitted Weiss without looking directly at her partner. "She may have lied, she may have spilled something embarrassing. Maybe she even said something that makes you think less of me." Now she did turn to face Ruby, and the younger girl could tell that Weiss was bottling herself up tightly.

"Like I said, Weiss, you're my friend and nothing Alice could say would make me think less of you," stated Ruby with a heart-felt conviction, all shimmering silver eyes and earnestness. "Maybe a little concerned about you, and I'd like to make sure you're okay, but I'm not going to think less of you!"

Weiss couldn't help herself, and she giggled, turning around to face Ruby fully. "Well, now you know how I feel when I worry about how you get your hands on your Lien. I'm not looking to judge you, just keep you safe." She dropped into a mutter to add, "From yourself, if need be."

"I guess I see your point," admitted Ruby, not catching the final comment.

"Just one thing, Ruby," said Weiss. "Don't ask me your question on the airship. Think it over, be sure of what you want to ask, and that it's something you want to know the answer to. Then ask me when we get dinner."

Ruby was silent, but then nodded. "Okay, Weiss."

* * *

><p>The Southern Line of the Vale City Monorail ran silent and smooth as it crossed through the inner city blocks before kicking out to head down south. The carriage was part of a pair of three-car-sets, filled with many people heading back out to the suburbs, the first wave of workers getting off early, as well as various students coming home after the end of classes. Many boys and girls in the predominantly red and grey Signal Academy uniforms were also heading home for the weekend.<p>

Many of the humans had already gotten off the train in some of the more affluent suburbs. With poorer, more dormitory suburbs remaining on the line, tired-looking faunus made up the majority of the patronage. Miltiades had to admit that she was starting to feel a little edgy, even though Velvet seemed completely at ease among the crowd.

A pre-recorded voice chimed in over the PA system, "Now arriving at ... Claremont Station. Next stop ... Peppermint Grove."

"That's our stop up next," said Velvet, breaking a comfortable silence that had fallen.

Miltiades looked up from the game she had been playing on her scroll. "So what sort of place is this?"

"It's a nice neighbourhood, there's actually very little crime. The faunus here have a big sense of community and don't put up with much. It's kind of a commercial district, really, one of the few outside the city centre." She pointed out the window as the monorail left Claremont Station behind. "See, a few taller buildings in the cluster over there? That's the centre of town in the Grove."

"Oh yeah, I see it," said Miltia.

"My family's café is on the near side of those buildings, and we live above the café," explained Velvet.

"So it's just you and your parents?" asked the girl in red.

"Yeah, my folks never had time for more kids, I guess, so I'm an only child," answered Velvet.

Five minutes later, the two girls were walking down the steps of the station and out onto the streets. Despite being reasonably well-kept, it was obvious to Miltiades that the area was quite poor. The buildings were more cramped and more cheaply made than the ones she was used to. The retailers on the main street mostly sold no-name or imitation clothes and goods. The dust store was small and up-armoured like it was the royal vault. Weapon shops were unusually common. So were very discrete facades that Miltia strongly suspected were adult entertainment venues, rather more than she would have expected.

She didn't try to raise the point with Velvet, but she could tell that even if there was a strong community spirit, the place was struggling. There were humans as well, but no wealthier looking than their faunus neighbours. Although Miltiades had never experienced poverty first-hand, she had operated in enough poor, crime-ridden areas to know the signs.

They had to wait to walk past a bar when a rousing fight spilled out from the door, two young men exchanging rib-shaking blows as they screamed about some slight. Much to Miltiades' amusement Velvet stepped protectively across her partner when the fight got near. Wishbearer stayed collapsed, but it was in Velvet's hand as one man knocked the other to the ground and roared in triumph. Miserable in defeat, the young man on the ground groaned and began to crawl back to his knees. The victor, a sheep-faunus with curling ram horns and bright eyes, thumped his chest and made a circuit before the onlookers, stopping as he came to Velvet, grinning goofily when he saw her flipping the bird at him.

"Hey hey, Velvet, back in town, you're looking good," he said lustily with a broad grin. "Fancy a drink with the king of the hill? I'd love to find out what the boys at Beacon have been teaching you."

"Go away, you know I think you're an asshole," snapped Velvet. "And I'm here with my friend, anyway, to go see my folks."

"Your friend, hey?" said the young man, moving closer to Miltiades, whose thumbs were sitting anxiously on the activation studs of her claws. "Well, hey babe."

"Easy there, lover boy," muttered Velvet, looking to avoid publicly embarrassing him and possibly sparking a fight. "She's a Beacon student, too. You can punch out the Ballard's boy, sure, but either of us would take you apart if you made us angry."

"Tch, fine," said the young man, rolling his eyes and turning to leave. "Say hi to your folks for me."

"Yeah, yeah, you too," replied Velvet with a dismissive wave as they walked by. "Jackass," she muttered, earning an arms spread "who, me?" gesture from the young man.

They walked on past the bar. Miltiades felt miserable as they went, the hair sticking up on the back of her neck as she felt like every pair of eyes on the street were focused squarely on her. The timidity she worked so hard to keep in check was rearing its head big time, and she walked closely in Velvet's wake. It embarrassed her to be behaving so timidly, and she suspected it was also a particularly bad idea with the current crowd, but they got through safely.

They walked by an empty lot that exposed the brick sides of a three-story building next door. Miltiades was shocked to hear a guttural snarl escape her friend, and she looked up to see what had attracted her ire. On the side of the building was an enormous piece of graffiti, centred by a great wolf's head in white over a crossed sword and rifle. Above was written 'ONWARD WHITE FANG' in great bold letters, and underneath 'PEPPERMINT MILITIA'. On the right-hand side of the wall was a painting of a young cat-faunus girl waving a red flag bearing the modern wolf's head and three slashes emblem of the White Fang.

"When the fuck did that go up?" swore Velvet softly. She turned and saw Miltiades looking at her questionably. "This is _not_ White Fang territory," she reassured fiercely. "I mean, even as far as the more militant faunus groups go, the locally dominant group is the Jaws of Menagerie, not the White Fang; the mood isn't nearly that extreme. You're perfectly safe here."

"It's okay, I trust you," said Miltiades. But Velvet kept looking up at that mural in alarm until it was out of sight. But now that Miltiades was looking for graffiti, she saw much more of it, a veritable war of ideas being carried out, small pieces of work scattered everywhere advocating peace, advocating war, advocating everything in-between, often with pieces on the same wall in a cut and thrust of answering slogans.

Finally they came upon a small unassuming shop front with a hanging sign bearing the name 'Scarletina's Café'. A poster was in one of the windows with the phrase "Peace Begets Peace", which reassured Miltiades.

"This is it," said Velvet, "Come on in."

Inside was a well-lit café that was half-full, with a dozen faunus and a pair of humans scattered across various tables. A pretty middle-aged woman with red hair and russet rabbit ears was making coffees studiously at an espresso machine, while a girl with fuzzy fox ears who looked to be around Ruby's age bustled to and fro, waiting tables. Miltiades' eyes went wide as the waitress turned around and a big bushy foxtail whipped adorably back and forth below the hem of her skirt.

Velvet noticed and said in a quiet, amused drawl, "Don't bother chasing that one; boy-crazy to a fault." Miltiades just rolled her eyes at her partner.

"Coffee's up," called out the woman behind the counter, setting down a pair of cups on saucers, before looking up and scanning the room. "Ahh! Velvet!" she cried out, immediately starting to scurry out from behind the counter. "Honey, you didn't tell me you were coming home this weekend!"

"Surprise, Mom," said Velvet cheekily as she advanced into a bone crunching hug from her mother. Miltiades could see that Velvet had taken after her mother closely, although the colour on their rabbit ears was different.

"Oh, and you've brought one of your school friends along as well?" said the woman as she spotted Miltiades hanging back a little. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Yes, yes, mother, I'm getting to that," said Velvet gently, gesturing her teammate close. "Come on, Miltia, don't tell me one pub punch up and one mural have made you go into your shell," she said in exasperation as she noticed her friend's distance.

Miltiades blushed red and quickly moved next to her comrade, but Velvet's mother grimaced. "Ah, you've seen the mural then?"

"Kinda hard to miss," scoffed Velvet. "What with being three stories and all." She turned side-on between the other two. "Mom, this is Miltiades Malachite, she's my partner at Beacon. Miltia, this is my Mom, Saffron."

"Lovely to meet you, dear," greeted Velvet's mother. "Feel free to call me Saffron. Welcome to my café. It's so good to see one of Velvet's friends, we didn't know if she was ever going to bring anyone back here," she added with a stern glare at her daughter.

"It's a great looking place," said Miltiades earnestly.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you, dear. Miltia, was it?" checked Saffron.

"Miltiades, but yes, Miltia for short," confirmed the student.

"Oh yes, I remember, one of the twins," said Saffron. "Velvet told me about you. Well, take a seat, you two, I'll bring you some coffee and sweets. Are you staying for dinner? I can get the guest room ready to go if you mean to stay in Vale."

"Yeah, I think we'll be doing that," said Velvet after exchanging a glance with Miltia.

Miltiades went to a table discretely in the corner of the room and sat down facing the room, crossing her legs smoothly as she went. Velvet took a seat along the wall to her side so they could both look over the room. "In hindsight," muttered Miltia to her friend, "A room full of faunus may be a problem for an honest conversation."

"Everyone has their own conversation to follow here," dismissed Velvet. "And there's a certain decorum about not paying attention to other people's conversations among faunus, otherwise we'd never get anything done."

"Among faunus," repeated Miltiades. "So that clearly doesn't get extended to me and Ruby talking."

"You and Ruby are becoming very much our team's business," scoffed Velvet.

"I'll still be a little more comfortable answering questions about that upstairs where I _know_ we aren't being overheard," said Miltiades as quietly as she could.

"Fine, after dinner then," shrugged Velvet. "But for the time being. I've noticed you've been tired in class a lot. Would you like to talk about that?"

"I'm not getting enough sleep," said Miltia with a helpless shrug.

"You're going to bed at the right time, and not waking up too early," noted Velvet. "Are you not sleeping through?"

Miltiades sat there in silence, looking down with haunted eyes. "You know what's odd? It's not necessarily Ruby in the nightmares. But so far it's always that scythe."

"So you are having nightmares then. How often?" asked Velvet, a look of pure sympathy on her face.

"I've had one every night since the incident, so four nights so far," admitted Miltia. "Maybe I'll catch a break tonight, being away from Beacon." The girl looked over at Velvet. "I've never been wounded that bad. I've been hurt, her sister even gave me a date with the ER, but I've never been ... nailed to the ground like that. Have you?"

"No. Well, I had a few injuries, you know, but nothing as gruesome as that," answered Velvet. "What are your nightmares like?"

Miltiades squirmed awkwardly in her seat, not enjoying revisiting the dreams. "Like I'm being fed on. Like Crescent Rose is a big ... parasite. Sinew instead of steel, teeth instead of blade, like it's alive and unholy." She swallowed and shook her head. "And it's draining me."

"And where is Ruby in all of this?" asked Velvet, leaning over the table.

The Malachite girl grimaced. "The first three times she didn't appear. Last night she did, with Crescent Rose ... and it didn't look alive this time. But they were both covered in blood. And then she asked me how I got away, but I woke up before I could answer."

"You make it sound like you're scared of the scythe more than the person who wields it," suggested Velvet in a thoughtful tone as she tried to decipher what her friend was telling her.

"That sounds so silly, being afraid of an inanimate weapon, right?" answered Miltiades. She went to say more, but fell silent and looked up as the adorable waitress came over, big bushy, russet tail sweeping back and forth in her wake.

The fox girl approached the table with a winsome smile and three coffees, which she placed before them, setting the third coffee before the empty seat opposite the two students. When she was done the waitress put her hands on the back of the chair and looked at them with great wide eyes.

"So you're both from Beacon!?" she asked breathlessly. "Ohh, what's it like there?!"

"Don't you start, don't you even start!" warned Velvet, knowing the girl wanted to see if they could set her up with a date. The waitress groaned and walked away morosely, but was immediately replaced by Saffron, who sat down opposite them. "We were trying to have a conversation, mom," she said wryly.

"I know, but you don't come home nearly enough, and I wanted to talk," said Saffron. "And I wanted to see what your partner was like, since you'll probably hide her away again after this."

Velvet groaned theatrically. "Mother..."

* * *

><p>If Weiss was frank with herself, she had been envisioning Ruby's weaponsmith as some skulking, lurid figure, holed up in a hidden forge the finding of which required a treasure map, a secret handshake and maybe a crystal key with a lock that was only visible at dusk. She was pleasantly surprised, however, when Ruby led her into an office building in the city centre, and they took the elevator several floors up.<p>

"So who is this Ben guy?" asked Weiss.

"He's just my account manager," explained Ruby as she bounced on her heels, watching the numbers slowly ascend on the elevator's display. "This is the front office and sales studio for Subiaco Metallurgy."

"You have an account manager?" echoed Weiss with a giggle. "You high-flyer!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Weiss. When you buy fifty-thousand Lien blade sets, you get an account manager." A freaked out expression crossed her face. "Uh, don't tell Alice I get my stuff through a competitor. Qrow swore by these guys when he needed swanky stuff made. In fact, try to keep this whole thing quiet, okay?"

Weiss leaned around to look Ruby in the eyes. "Ah, sneaky, don't want anyone to figure out your advantage, I see."

"No, I just don't want people to think I'm trying to be a show-off," said Ruby quietly. "I want to help people, not be a celebrity."

"Oh, come on," dismissed Weiss. "You have a gift, and you have standards in your weapons. If that's showing off, then it's a pity more people aren't like that."

The elevator opened up onto a lobby, with a set of glass doors ahead bearing an oval and cross-hatch shaped emblem. Ruby led her partner onward, up to a reception desk, where they were swiftly put through to a small waiting room, and then ushered into an office.

"Well," began Weiss slyly as they waited. "If you don't want me telling people we were buying your weapon accessories, you'll need to be able to show what we were heading into the city for."

"You want to go back to your boutique, don't you?" sighed Ruby.

"You have two outfits; we haven't begun to fix you up from several years of depressing neglect yet," said Weiss in a slightly haughty tone.

"Just remember I'm a trainee huntress first and foremost," cautioned Ruby, before adding under her breath, "With normal knees."

A middle aged man in a suit entered the office, carrying a pair of slim cases. "Ah, my favourite slightly terrifying student client," he greeted. "Ruby Rose, how are you?"

"Tired, it's been a long week," complained Ruby.

"Par for the course at Beacon, I'm told," replied the salesman. "Well, I'll make this quick for you then." He produced two sheets of paper from a folder on his desk. "This is the final specification sheet for the blade set you ordered on credit, as you'll see, all measurements are to our usual exacting standards. Our test machine whacked this into Deathstalker armour plates at ludicrous speeds and we think you'll find it will perform admirably for you. You already have the paperwork for the other case, which was already paid for and good to pick up."

Weiss looked askance at Ruby over the second case, but the girl just waved the question away and the heiress didn't see a need to dig deeper.

"Here is the invoice for the balance," said the salesman, placing the sheet of paper on the desk before them. "Forty thousand Lien, inclusive of all applicable surcharges and taxes as required in the Kingdom of Vale."

Ruby put a hand on Weiss' wrist. "It is a lot of Lien," she said so only her partner could hear. "Are you sure about this? I can find ways to scrape the money together. Beacon lets students claim Grimm bounties."

The ivory-haired girl turned to the salesman and asked, "How long does it take to forge a replacement blade for Ruby's weapon?"

"Two months," answered the salesman matter-of-factly.

Weiss turned back to Ruby and smiled. "Ruby, it's worth that much Lien to me just to make sure I'm not without Crescent Rose's backup for two months. For my partner? Of course I'm sure." She fished out a Lien card from a carefully concealed pocket on her dress and handed it over. The look that Ruby gave her was everything she had hoped for, an adorable mixture of thrilled, starry-eyed and appreciative, as well as a little embarrassed. "Consider it your birthday and Christmas present."

"Thank you, Weiss, I'll make sure its not wasted," she said eagerly.

* * *

><p>"Last of the big spenders," quipped Melanie as Pyrrha placed a plate of curry on the table across from her. They were in a self-serve cafe that opened onto the main courtyard at Beacon. "You even got me a drink to go with it."<p>

"Sorry," apologised Pyrrha reflexively. "But, you know, you won't find better food on campus. You'll find more expensive food, sure, but not better."

"I'm just teasing," said Melanie with a broad grin. "I appreciate the gesture, the cafeteria food grates after a while." She stabbed a curry-soaked chunk of meat and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, that's good, that's really good," she said after taking a moment to savour it. "Okay, you've won me over, what did you want to talk about?"

Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "I'm thrilled my bribe was to your liking," she said dryly. "So you and Weiss seemed to get a bit off your chests in the meeting."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so," said Melanie non-committally. She grimaced. "You should have heard Velvet give it to me after that meeting, she just stood there and tore strips off me. Called me pig-headed, stubborn, all the rest. Quite an experience, actually." She looked up and giggled. "Her ears actually tilted back flat. I didn't know a rabbit faunus could do that."

"Were you happy with your part in the meeting?" asked Pyrrha. "You kind of started things going downhill."

Melanie frowned as she chewed on another piece of curried beef. "Look, I know that I asked Ruby to promise it was an accident, but we're talking about an incident with my sister, I have a right to be careful, okay?"

"Don't you think riling up both sides is risky?" pointed out Pyrrha. "You went after Weiss' partner, so Weiss replied in kind. You may think it was just Weiss being catty, but really, it was Weiss being protective of her younger teammate. And, sorry, but I don't think either Miltiades or Ruby really appreciate it from either of you!"

"Look, when her sister came through the club I was working at, she killed at least one person, and did a lot of harm besides. Me and Miltia weren't the only ones to go to the ER after that. When I'm worried about me and my sister's safety here, I've got very good reasons!"

"One of the bouncers, or one of the henchmen?" asked Pyrrha, who had done her own bit of investigating.

Melanie pressed her lips thinly, unhappy at the question. "Henchmen, if you must make the distinction. Does that mean he had it coming?"

Pyrrha fixed Melanie with a sharp look. "You know I competed in each of the Mistral Tournaments?" Melanie nodded, not sure where the other girl was going with this. "Did you hear about what happened in my second year of the tournament?"

"No, I haven't," answered Melanie, uncertainly.

"In my second year, I had improved hugely over my first year, and I was strong in my first year," explained Pyrrha. "Sorry, I know that sounds like boasting, but, well, you don't get into Beacon without being strong." Melanie gestured for her to continue as she chewed on her dinner. "The match referee in my opening rounds didn't realise how much I had improved. So when he was gauging when to declare a fight over, he didn't leave enough of a margin for my heavy blows."

"Oh!" said Melanie, a sympathetic look on her face. "Oh no, Pyrrha…"

"So when I created an opening and absolutely let my second opponent have it," said Pyrrha, continuing her story. "I broke his aura unexpectedly, and opened his chest up. A shattered piece of rib pierced his heart and no one could stop the bleeding. It happened that quickly, and I never meant for it to happen. I didn't even know until the tournament was over, because they ushered me away the moment the fight was over, even as the medics were rushing out."

She squared Melanie up with a regretful look. "Now, I was devastated when that happened. It was supposed to be a friendly match. No one should go to a junior tournament and then not come home. But these things are out of our control sometimes. When you take up arms, and express your aura, you know the risks. Any one of us can die here, be it fighting Grimm or even on the practice floor."

"Heh," muttered Melanie. She thought over all of the things Aurea had told her about Yang, and considered resisting Pyrrha's suggestions. But in the end, it didn't seem worth the fight. "Okay, you've made your point."

They ate in silence for a while as Melanie mulled over Pyrrha's admission.

* * *

><p>Seated in a table at the back of the crowded public house, Blake watched the vibrant pandemonium unfolding around her. A wide variety of people had gathered under the sign of The Old Bones to celebrate the end of the working week. Suits and ties mingled with casual wear, cocktail dresses and even combat skirts, and more besides. A live band jammed on a stage at the far end of the bar attracting plenty of people to dance the dust of the week off their heels.<p>

Yang picked her way back through the crowd with a pint of lager in one hand, and gin and tonic in the other. It was her third successful foray to the bar since they had arrived, putting to bed any doubts Blake had held over her ability to get service.

The brawler deposited the glasses with a flourish. Blake noticed a piece of damp paper stuck to the side of the pint glass. When she pulled it off and read it, she laughed. "Yang, you have an admirer," she joked, handing her the paper, which contained the barman's number.

"Oh, really?" she asked, before she noticed what was on the paper. "Pfft, he's ambitious."

"Not hearing wedding bells, then?" asked Blake with a wry smile.

Yang rested an elbow up on the table and smiled back at Blake. "Nope. Not getting the sort of ideas I'd read in that book collection you think we don't know about, either."

Blake nearly spat her drank out, but then turned to give Yang a dark look with narrowed eyes. "You have _not_ been going through my romance books behind my back."

"Nah, just saw the covers and blurbs," teased Yang. "Wouldn't mind having a read though, I enjoy a raunchy tale as much as the next girl. At least, the next girl who is hamstrung by being stuck in a dormitory with her baby sister."

"Oh you poor thing you," teased Blake in turn, rolling her eyes.

"I did notice one thing though," said Yang hesitantly. She had promised herself she wouldn't bring this up, but as she was starting on her third pint, liquid courage was beginning to distort her inhibitions. "Are you … uhh."

"Just spit it out, Yang," ordered Blake.

"Do you have a thing for faunus?" asked Yang quizzically. "There's like a fucking load of faunus characters in your books, I kind of wondered if you're hunting those books specifically. I know there are some people for whom it's kind of a fetish."

Blake choked on her gin, starting a tremendous coughing fit as she put her glass down.

"Ahh, Blake, don't die!" panicked Yang as she thumped her partner on the back.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," muttered the former White Fang member as she continued to cough. "Sorry, no, I just … happen to like that particular author and they write a lot of stuff with at least one faunus character." That Blake also found it important to have a character she could identify with went carefully unsaid. "If you wanted to borrow one, I could give you a loan, as long as you promise to be careful with it," offered Blake.

"Hmm," murmured Yang contemplatively as she took a deep drink of the local lager. "Sounds good to me!"

"Alright, I'll pick one out for you when we get back," decided Blake.

"Cheers, Blake," said Yang brightly. "Say, can I ask you something?"

"It seems to be the night for it, why not," said Blake dryly.

"When Miltiades said there was another girl who, you know, batted for the other side," began Yang, "Did you know who she meant? She said Weiss knew."

"Because Weiss shares so much with me," drawled Blake. "I don't know for sure. I suppose I can work out a good guess, though."

"Oh?" said Yang with interest. "Who was your guess?"

"Well, we can already take Miltia herself out of the picture," noted Blake. "I doubt she'd put any of her team mates under the microscope, so it's not them. She wouldn't have asked if Weiss knew if it was Weiss herself. That leaves five. I know it's not me. Jaune makes Pyrrha so wet I'm surprised she hasn't locked themselves into the dorm yet, so that leaves you, Ruby and Nora."

Yang was silent for several long seconds as she mulled that over. "Well, it's not me," she said, before shrugging and showing a sheepish grin. "Well, not exclusively, and she'd know that if she ever talked to Aurea, who knows a bit of my dating history. I don't think she'll ever forgive me for that."

"Do I even want to know?" asked Blake in alarm.

"Probably not," laughed Yang. "So it's Ruby or Nora. And it's not Ruby."

"Why isn't it Ruby?" queried Blake, not following the reasoning.

"Because she'd have told me, right?" reasoned Yang.

Blake was sceptical. "You think so?"

"Of course, I'm her big sister, she'd have to tell me," affirmed the optimistic older sister. "I mean, if Weiss knows, she'd have to have told me already. Why, you don't think it's Ruby, do you?"

The dark haired girl gave her partner a confident look. "Would you like to bet on it?"

"Grimm and Dust, Blake, I'm not going to start placing bets on my little sister's orientation and five hundred Lien says she's not the girl Miltia was talking about, 'cause you are so _on_, Blake," said Yang as she crossed her arms.

"Deal," said Blake, before they shook on it. Her eyes widened as movement at the front entrance of the bar caught her eye. "And here comes trouble."

Yang turned and spotted several faunus walking in through the front doors. They were tall, fit, young and cocky, a mix of different types, but all cut from the same cloth. She could tell they were warriors by how they carried themselves, though given she was well accustomed to being surrounded by eminently dangerous people, she did not feel particularly concerned by this. Blake, however, could tell so much more about them. The splashes of grey cloth, the carefully worked grey knots here and there, all spoke silently to her.

These boys and girls had some very naughty friends.

"Mrrow," said Yang, looking at a particularly handsome man with a large cat affinity, whose abs were exposed by scant clothing. Next to him was a wolf-faunus woman with a lusty figure, and a wild attitude to match, whom Yang also liked the look of. "Trouble alright. Careful, I might start to doubt you about not having a taste _fur _faunus," she teased as she took up her pint glass again.

"Yang, look at me," said Blake urgently. "I mean they're White Fang."

And with that Yang put the glass back on the table top and looked again. "Ohh," she said, taking note of how they seemed to subtly hold a protective perimeter, even as they pushed and shoved their way through people. "They're running coverage," she observed to Blake.

The former agent looked closer towards the entrance, and saw a rabbit faunus girl, a little older than herself, whose eyes were so cold, and so unloved, and so dead, that Blake felt her heart go out to the girl. She knew that look. She knew what drove a person to have eyes like that, to look like hope had been strangled away leaving only a mechanical purpose. Though she had never seen this particular rabbit girl before, did not know her name or what she was like, she knew what she was.

"Okay, we're done," said Blake, standing up. "Side entrance, now."

"What, oh come on, what's a pub brawl worth, anyway," asked Yang with a laugh. "They look handy in a fight, but nothing special."

"They're not what I'm worried about, follow me," said Blake.

Yang groaned and stood, and together they moved towards a hallway that led into the staff areas. A bouncer challenged them, but let them through when Blake mentioned they were looking to go out the side exit to avoid a scene. In a few moments they were at the exit.

"I better get a good explanation as to why I had to leave half a fucking pint back there," said Yang irritably.

"Yang, don't even, we're in danger, shut up," hissed Blake, catching Yang by surprise.

Blake reached behind her back with her right hand as her left pushed open the door, and with one smooth movement she put Gambol Shroud's inner blade to the neck of the man standing outside the door before he even realised she was there. Quick as a whip, the dark girl hauled the man away from the door and ran a quick pirouette to check for any friends he may have had.

"Mother of Grimm!" blurted Yang as she deployed Ember Celica on reflex, then ran after her partner. "Blake, what the..?"

"If you see someone with grey strips of cloth, try not to hurt them too bad," muttered Blake. "But if they don't have that, hold _nothing_ back. They'll be hunter-grade."

"Blake," echoed Yang in confusion, before she shook her head and let her aura suffuse her, burning away the early intoxication, settling over her like a warm embrace. Her light and power flared through the dark alley, illuminating the twilight cast shadows. Startled drunks from further up the alley way jumped in fright, but no foes lurked in the gloom. She turned around to look at Blake, and found her partner whispering to her captive.

"I'm going to ask you once, brother," warned Blake softly so only the White Fang agent could hear. "Do you have any other brothers or sisters in this alley?"

"Brother?" repeated the man in surprise. "God's Horns, then you must be … yes, there are more of us here."

"I didn't ask _here_, I asked, in this alley," repeated Blake irritably. "Don't toy with me."

"I know what you were, I would never toy with you, sister," replied the man anxiously.

Blake glanced over her shoulder. "Yang, sweep to the mouth of the alley, we're going out that way."

"You got it, Blakey," responded Yang excitedly, cracking her fingers as she began to scout.

"You had a trigger agent in there," said Blake as she pulled the man away from the door. "Are you here for me?"

"I'm a grunt, sister, I don't even know the bunny's name," protested the dog faunus.

Yang came to a halt ten paces from the end of the alley, having found no lurking foes or traps. But just as she was about to drop her guard, she happened to check above her. Recognising all potential attack vectors was a key skill for a would-be-huntress, and Yang's training had just saved her a lot of inconvenience. Two faunus with plain curved swords fell from on high. Yang grinned savagely. She may not understand _why_ she was having to fight, but she appreciated a good rumble none the less.

Deep booms filled the alley in rapid succession as Yang ascended to meet them. Ember Celica's recoil let her jump onto and rebound off the walls and drive bone-rattling blows into the two men as they descended. Only one of her foes came back to his feet when they all hit the ground and she let out a battle cry full of relish as she spun into him, a thunderous volley of blows flattening the bear-man like he was nothing but deadweight.

"Uh, I did say try not to hurt them too badly," grumbled Blake down the alley loudly, throwing her partner a grouchy look.

"I couldn't tell who was who," excused Yang with a shrug.

"Then maybe you should look," interrupted a new voice coldly as the side door opened again. "But then, we aren't all blessed with faunus eyes."

The rabbit faunus from inside the pub stepped out from the shadowy entrance, her eyes emotionless but sharp, seeing all before her. A small but terrible weapon was held between her hands; a variant-ballistic chain scythe, though in a different style to Blake's, that didn't employ the cleaver sheath.

"Hey there," called Yang with a nonchalant wave, before she put her fists together and her semblance sent a shockwave of power that ripped across the brickwork in a torrent of debris, staggering both Blake and the rabbit faunus.

"Impressive," allowed the White Fang agent with a grim smile. "You're hanging out with a Huntress, I see," she guessed, glancing at the blonde girl who was standing out of earshot.

Blake allowed herself a smirk. "Why don't I just rattle off my life's story since skipping out, and leave you a forwarding address while I'm at it?"

"I'm sure Adam would appreciate it," replied the rabbit girl calmly. The former White Fang agent froze perfectly still as she stared at the girl that would once have been a comrade to her, a sister of the White Fang. The mention of her former partner sent chills down her back. "Adam has been instructing everyone of Field Agent or above who finds you to pass on a message. 'Come home, Blake, all is forgiven'."

"No…," whispered Blake fearfully. "I've had my ear to the ground. You guys have been killing people who try to leave."

"Too many splinter groups and factions, we've been trying to clean house," explained the operative. "But really, it's functionaries that we've been bumping off. Those come in packs, you know. But an operator, a real trigger agent, girls like you don't grow on trees."

"I can't go back," refused Blake. "I never really meant to leave; I threw myself off a cliff after my last mission."

"We know," said the agent. "You may not know me, but when someone spotted you in Vale one day, we all got a crash course on who you were. However did you survive the fall?" When Blake didn't reply, the other faunus snorted. "Well, I'm not going to haul you in kicking and screaming. You know our cause is right, and the only way, deep down. When you've given this peaceful approach its full measure, and the humans fail you, as you know they will, the door is open." She snorted a little caustically. "Of course, if you and your human friends try and interfere in our plans, don't expect us to be merciful. But for now, farewell."

Blake backed carefully away down the alley, trusting in Yang to keep her safe from behind. But the rabbit faunus walked back inside the Old Bones bar, so Blake released her hostage and then knocked him out with a solid swing of her elbow. She ran back to Yang and together they put serious distance between themselves and the club. Yang grinned at her as she went by, unable to be unhappy with any situation that let her thump a fool or two.

"Come on, let's get out of the city," complained Blake.

"Back to Beacon?" asked Yang.

"No, no, I'd be watching the airship terminals tonight if I were them," said Blake nervously. "We'll go back tomorrow."

"My dad is out of town, but there's a spare key I can use, so we can crash there," suggested Yang. "Just hop a taxi here, they're not too pricey in Vale."

"Alright, sounds good to me," agreed Blake. Her scroll beeped as she sent her text message to Weiss and Velvet. 'Hey Vv/Ws. Just saw WF trigger agt at Old Bones bar. WF ops tms in city, be v. careful! Avd airship fr now', her message read.

* * *

><p>Velvet's scroll buzzed in her pocket as she made her way up the stairs after dinner. "Oh, who would be messaging me now?" she said aloud. Her eyebrows rose as she read the message. "What the...?"<p>

"Who is it?" asked Miltiades, following her friend.

"It's Blake," muttered Velvet, looking at her scroll. Consternation crossed her face as she read the message contained within, but she carefully hid that from her friend. "You might want to stay the night, Blake said there may be White Fang trouble brewing in the city tonight."

"They seem to be pretty active at the moment," noted Miltiades hesitantly. "I guess, if your mom doesn't mind me crashing here. I don't think I have the Lien to splurge on a hotel room."

"You don't have a family home to go to?" asked Velvet absently, re-reading the message.

"Melanie and myself moved out of home last year, and rented an apartment, but we left it when we went to Beacon," explained Miltiades. "We haven't been on speaking terms with either of our parents since they broke up, and we aren't looking to change that anytime soon."

"Sounds nasty," said Velvet as she put her scroll away. 'Alright, Blake, you secretive little kitty, how do you know this sort of stuff…,' she wondered to herself.

"It's behind us now," said Miltiades with a shrug, though a small tremor in her voice put the lie to the statement. To her relief, Velvet didn't pursue the point. "So, what sort of explanations were you wanting from me?" she asked as they reached the upper floor landing.

Velvet looked over her shoulder at Miltiades, and pointed at the last door on the right down the hallway. "That's my room at the back." She led the way down with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. "What explanations … Alright, I want to know why you're protecting Ruby."

"Protecting her?" asked Miltiades in surprise.

"Well, she's confessed to trying to kill you, Melanie would take that and run to Ozpin so fast she'd break the speed of sound," elaborated Velvet. "And if you meant what I think you meant at the meeting, you also stopped short of outing her."

"I'm not going to say anything about that," warned Miltiades. "Nothing, okay?"

Velvet stopped outside of her door and gave her partner a surprised look. She'd clearly inadvertently hit a nerve in her partner, so she nodded and let it be. She opened the door and gestured her teammate inside. The student's room was small and a bit cluttered, but had all the necessaries. It was spotless as a result of not having been used for a few months. There was a comfortable looking bed with burgundy coverlets, a desk decorated around the edges with little figurines, posters around the walls with musicians out of the faunus music scene. Prominently up on the wall over her desk were two crossed staves, both well-worn and looking cruder and cheaper than Wishbearer.

"Your first dust staves?" asked Miltiades, pointing up at the display.

Velvet grinned goofily. "Yep," she said. "It was hard to keep them going at first. They don't like to sell Dust in faunus heavy areas. But I made do, and I learned to be really efficient with my Dust and my Aura, which helped me learn my craft."

Miltiades nodded as she looked over a series of framed class photos. She was surprised to find out that Velvet only became a Signal Academy student for her last two years, and seemed to go to a much more local school previous to that. One with a much greater faunus population, going by the ears visible on the kids. "It's pretty warm in here," she noted.

"We're right over top of the kitchen," explained Velvet. "The heat comes up through the floorboards." A conspiratorial look passed over the faunus girl as she grinned. "Also means they can't hear a thing that happens up here from downstairs, which had its advantages."

"Oh, god, I don't think I want to know," said Miltiades with an eye-roll. "Is there anywhere I can sit where I don't have to worry about how you've taken advantage of that?"

"Oh, don't tease, it wasn't as bad as that," reassured Velvet with a handwave. "It was mostly just being able to play my music loud and make noise with my friends. You may want to sit in the other chair though," she added, just before Miltia began to sit down in the swivel chair in front of the desk." Miltiades froze and shot Velvet a filthy look, earning a nonchalant look in reply. "Just sit on the bed with me, Miltia, better for talking, after all. Everything was washed after I left, anyway."

The girl in red sighed and dropped down on the bed, folding her legs up underneath herself. "I'm not turning in Ruby, because I don't hate Weiss like Melanie does, and I don't hate Yang like Aurea does. And, frankly, I'm scared of what she would do if I actually went out to try and ruin her."

"Can you tell me what she did that-" began Velvet.

"No, drop it," said Miltiades firmly.

Velvet sat there and folded her arms, looking at her partner in frustration. "Okay, that's off-limits. But you have to tell me something, surely, so I can have an idea of how seriously to take this."

The dark haired girl sighed and fell onto her back, legs dangling over the side of the bed. "Alright, fine. The only reason I am currently alive is because I was already in my defensive side-step as Ruby went into her semblance. And the only reason I knew to evade to the left was because I've seen her use that same move before."

"Yes…?" prompted Velvet.

"On a person," continued the former underworld bodyguard.

"Uh…"

"Who didn't survive the experience," said Miltiades flatly.

"I … _What_!?" said Velvet in shock.

"That's all I'm going to say. Ruby has good reasons for wanting the past to stay buried," explained Miltiades. "I'll bear that secret myself, because I don't know what will happen if Ruby thinks I'm spreading it. So don't you act any different around her."

Velvet shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "I see. So she doesn't want you dead anymore?"

"No, and she apologised. So for now," said Miltia, "I am going to keep her secret. That's my decision, and I'm not changing it. You, my sister and Aurea aren't in danger, and I don't want to play along with Mel's vendetta any more than I have to."

"Alright, I can live with that," said Velvet with a sigh. "Do you like her?"

"Sorry, do I think she's a cool person, or do I like her in a juvenile schoolgirl 'let's go steady' sense?" asked Miltiades dryly, green eyes peering at Velvet from a hooded gaze.

"Latter," asked Velvet.

"Ha, no," retorted Miltia. "She's a brat, who seems to be on an eternal sugar high. Not my cup of tea."

"Okay, well, that's reassuring at least. Have you considered talking to the school psychiatrist?" asked the faunus girl earnestly.

Miltiades glared at her partner. "Now why would I need that?" she asked irritably.

"You're having nightmares after a stressful, scary incident," pointed out Velvet. "It must have been at least a bit traumatising. I don't think you're coping as well after the accident as you think you are."

"Look, I'd want more than just a few nightmares before I consider that route," protested Miltiades. "I'm not crazy, I don't need a shrink."

"Okay, maybe not just yet, but I'd like you to keep it in mind," asked the rabbit girl earnestly. "They can help you a lot, and needing a bit of help is really common in this industry. The mind isn't perfect when it comes to handling shocks and trauma you know, and having the insides of a lung exposed to open air is legitimately terrifying."

"If you're really set on it, I'll keep it in mind and we'll consider it again in a week, okay?" Miltiades looked away in frustration. "Where's your bathroom, I need to go." Velvet sighed and gave her directions.

Miltiades grumpily made her way down the hall to the bathroom. When she returned, feet shuffling silently on the carpet, she heard Velvet and her father talking as she approached the door. At first it was very muffled, but when she reached the door she began to make out what they were saying. She didn't pay it much mind until she heard something that made her freeze.

"So, I was asking around, quietly, about the hidden faunus friend in your class like you asked," came a man's voice.

'Hidden faunus friend?' thought Miltia to herself as she stopped at the edge of the door. 'What!?'

"Showed her picture to an old friend I trust, he didn't recognise her, but he thought she looked familiar, so read into that what you will," said the man's voice. "Do you know much about her fighting style?"

"Other than being a chain scythe?" she heard Velvet reply, causing Miltia's jaw to drop. "No, I don't. I had to go toe to toe with her when our teams had a big fight, but in hindsight, she wasn't really fighting, just trying to tie me up."

"Okay, well, keep an eye out for it, it may be your cue as to if she's a militant," said the man. "My friend reckons there's three solid possibilities. There's a survivalist group that makes that sort of weapon and could teach her how to use it."

"I like that possibility," said Velvet eagerly. "She always said she lived outside of the kingdoms when she was growing up, so that could make sense."

"Well, that's encouraging," said the man. "The other possibilities are the VFLM or the White Fang. I'll send your scroll a rundown on what to look for in the styles."

She heard Velvet sigh deeply. "God, I hope it's not the White Fang, I am sick of them. What was up with that mural just up the road, by the way?"

"They're starting a turf war with the Jaws," the other man replied. "So both sides are putting up a lot of propaganda, and there' s lot of pro-peace stuff as well. It's been … let's call it exciting. Been a lot of White Fang activity in the city in recent weeks, especially as part of a big set of Dust heists. Some of them have been quite bloody."

"Blake sent me a text message," said Velvet quietly. "She says she ran into a White Fang trigger agent at a bar in central. Told me and Weiss to be careful and avoid the airships for tonight."

"So she knows what White Fang trigger teams are, and knows enough to warn her friends despite the danger that it might lead to questions," observed the man.

Miltiades would have listened further, but motion out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. 'Oh, Grimm and Dust, the fox girl,' thought Miltiades, glancing back and seeing the waitress looking at her with a big smirk on her face. Seeing the girl about to open her mouth, Miltia tapped into her semblance and turned around instantly, putting a hand up over the girl's mouth. Vivid green crystals burst around her like an ethereal snowflurry. The waitress' eyes went wide as saucers, and Miltia had to bite down on a giggle as she saw the fox ears twitch madly.

"Shh," whispered Miltiades as she pulled her hand away again from the smaller, more delicate girl. "Not a word. Don't tell her I was listening."

"Well, it's difficult to be quiet when I'm so excited. Maybe if you could promise to hand my number to a nice hunter in training I could be quieter," whispered back the waitress coyly.

The Beacon student rolled her eyes at the attempted blackmail. "You have no idea how bad a choice I am for that," she whispered sarcastically. She looked at the girl's pretty face and then added in a carefully mild tone, "Although if you ever felt a bit curious, I could help."

"I know, that little piece of gossip spread quick. But you'd do better than Velvet would," pointed out the waitress irritably. "I hear her coming," she added urgently. "Too late to hide. Promise to try and hook me up?" Miltiades rolled her eyes but nodded. "Kiss me," she offered.

There was a moment of hesitation from Miltiades until she realised the fox faunus was offering her a cover story. And in her mind she laughed and knew this girl was playing with fire without even knowing it could burn. And Miltiades Malachite could _burn_. Alice knew it, and why else would she put up with the former underworld girl's commitment-phobia? So the academy student pulled the slighter girl close and closed her eyes, and her lips were sweet to go with the spice of her scent and down, down, down she took her in the kiss until suddenly the world around them had disappeared.

"_Miltiades Malachite_!" snapped Velvet, breaking the trainee huntress from her hungry reverie.

The dark haired girl blinked. 'When did we end up against the wall?' she thought to herself as she stepped back, before shaking her head to clear the fog. The waitress was in a complete daze, still moving slightly as if in the embrace. "Oh, hey, Velvet," she said huskily.

"Don't 'hey Velvet' me, I called you three times before you heard me," complained Velvet. She looked between Miltia and the fox faunus, who was grinning deliriously. "How did you even get her to...? You know what, I don't want to know."

The younger girl giggled, and said, "I've never been kissed like that before in my life." Miltiades bravely resisted the urge to preen, and just smiled at the girl.

The rabbit faunus ran her hands over her face. "I just told you both 'I don't want to know'," she complained. "Isn't your shift over?"

"That's what I came up here to tell your dad," said the girl. "But I ran into your friend here and…"

"Yeah, alright," cut off Velvet, before she called out to the rabbit faunus man who had appeared in the doorway. "Hey, dad, Sara's done for the day, she was just about to go now. Bye!"

The fox girl rolled her eyes and turned around, but not before throwing Miltiades a wink. "Sure you wanted to stay here for the night? I live just across the road," she asked.

Miltiades said nothing as she didn't know if the girl was making an honest offer or just trying to needle Velvet, whom Miltia had seen be a bit bossy to the girl around the cafe that evening. If it was the latter, then Miltia decided it worked perfectly. She could see Velvet's thumb trembling over the activation stud on Wishbearer as the girl walked away.

"You're unbelievable," Velvet hissed at Miltiades.

Her partner shrugged airily, before smiling wickedly. "Don't get angry with me," she said in a playful tone. "You know I'm good at spotting the curious girls."

"Oh, please, just stop," groaned Velvet. "Me and dad were talking about something secret, did you hear us?"

"A personal secret, or something involving the group?" asked Miltiades guilefully.

"Just admit that you heard us," demanded Velvet in exasperation.

"I was busy chatting up foxy over there," pointed out Miltiades. "By the way, do fox girls have a reputation?"

"You know I despise stereotypes like that," said Velvet heatedly. "And yes, they do, and she's a freaking archetype." She shook her head at Miltia. "Look, if you didn't hear, great, if you did, please for the love of Dust keep what you heard under your hat. It's as sensitive as your Ruby secret." She bit her lip and then fixed her partner with a look that could strip paint off a wall. "And you're staying here tonight where I can keep you away from that girl and out of trouble."

"Keep _me_ out of trouble? Well that's a turn for the books, isn't it?" shot back Miltia in a quiet voice.

"Do you normally have to keep Velvet out of trouble?" asked Mr Scarletina, reminding them of his presence.

The two girls turned to stare at the man and blinked big deer-in-headlight blinks. "You know what, let's finish this conversation later," said Velvet flatly when she turned back to Miltia.

Velvet's father shook his head and walked back downstairs. "I think I need to have a chat with you tomorrow before you go," he said to Miltiades. "I bet I'd learn all sorts of things Velvet plays dumb about." He glanced back at his daughter and snorted. "Not that we're as blind as she thinks we are."

"Come on, dad, you shouldn't ask questions you won't want to know the answers to," objected Velvet, before she fixed her partner with a glare.

"As long as you stay safe, that's all I'm concerned about," replied her father. "But if Miltia says you're being risky, I'm going to get your mother to give you the talk." And with that he disappeared down the stairs.

Velvet groaned wholeheartedly. "Come on, Miltia, let's get you set up in the guest room before you do any more damage to my domestic harmony."

* * *

><p>With her blades paid for through her partner's patronage, Ruby had, digging in on the matter like she was a faunus with claws, insisted that she pay for the clothes Weiss had wanted her to buy. She had several thousand Lien still sitting in her account from the money she had scraped together with the intention of starting a payment plan on her new blade, after all, and now that she didn't have that massive bill looming over her head, she could afford to use it.<p>

Clearly determined to have her way, and with Weiss too image conscious to allow a row at her favourite boutique, Ruby had carried the day. As a result, they found themselves walking down one of the main avenues in the city centre, towards a restaurant that Weiss had been dying to try, with a much poorer Ruby. Both girls had a weapon's case and a bag from the boutique apiece, one of which carried Ruby's battle dress. In its place on Ruby's fit frame was a short dress in brilliant crimson with a comfortable halter neck. A black panel ran down her right side to break up the solid colour. In a way, it reminded her uncomfortably of the dress worn by the mystery woman whom she had fought before coming to Beacon. But it certainly looked good on her and she was turning heads as she walked next to Weiss.

"Look, Ruby, I know that you want to be independent, and you don't want this to work like I'm your sug… like I'm your rich patron or something," acknowledged Weiss. "You want to get through on your merits, and I completely respect that." She went quiet for a moment, thinking back on her own experiences with her family, and softly added, "Believe me, I understand that more than you might think."

"And I'm glad you understand that," said Ruby amicably. "So we're good?"

"No!" protested Weiss. "I have been abstaining from all sorts of things since I came to Beacon because I know it's rich girl territory. Now, let's be clear. Huntresses get rich if they're any good whatsoever, so this won't be an issue when we graduate, but for now?" She sighed. "Look, Ruby, there are things I want to go do, like eat at this restaurant, and I want to be able to go with the people that I like, by which I mean my team, but I don't want to impoverish you."

"Weiss," complained Ruby in a tone little more than a whine.

"Look, just let me buy you dinner, alright?!" demanded Weiss in exasperation. "I don't do it that often, but come on, I can either go eat with my old society girlfriends, and I promise you, you don't want to be around me after I've spent time with them. I'm self-aware enough to tell you that. Or, I can go with you and have my enjoyment totally ruined by knowing that you'll be skipping scythe maintenance for a month because of it. Or you can just shut up and let me pay for you already!"

Ruby shot her a look, her silver eyes narrowed. "Alright."

Weiss threw her arms up in the air, "Thank you!"

"But on one condition!" declared Ruby, pointing at her partner with theatrical flair.

"Oh god, what?" groaned Weiss.

"Next time we're playing one of my tabletop games, you commit!" demanded the younger girl imperiously. When Weiss laughed, she crossed her arms and added, "I mean it! If we're playing Kingdoms, you win at all costs. If we're playing Grimmhammer, you treat those miniatures like your own life depended on them."

"Is that all, your highness?" asked Weiss in a playful drawl.

Ruby's eyes went wide as moons. "Oh, you do _not_ get to say that to me, not even!" She paused for a moment. "And it's not all, next week I'm picking dinner, and I'm paying."

Just as Weiss started to protest, her scroll played a musical chorus in her pocket. She frowned and pulled the device out and read over the message that had appeared. "Oh, it's Blake," she said, before a complex surge of emotions washed over her, starting with white hot anger. Ruby blinked in surprise as she heard Weiss mutter what was the singularly worst piece of creative cursing her ears had ever heard. Consternation followed shortly thereafter as Weiss asked aloud, "How do you possibly know what that is, Blake?" Finally she could see anxiety in her expression as she looked up and searched piercingly through the surrounding area.

"Uh, there may be a change of plans, Ruby," said Weiss slowly as she stopped to look at a faunus person idling on the opposite street-corner. "Depending on where the Old Bones is."

Sensing the potential for danger in Weiss' body language, Ruby pulled Crescent Rose's holding form from her back and kept it ready for instant deployment.

Weiss tapped away at her scroll and called a contact as Ruby waited in no small confusion. "Weiss here," said the heiress peremptorily on the scroll. "A Beacon teammate of mine just reported seeing a White Fang trigger team outside some place called the Old Bones. How far away is that?" She waited a second, then added, "Corner of Worsfold and Brereton. We were on our way to that new pasta restaurant by the Mistral embassy."

She waited for several seconds, scuffing the ground anxiously as she waited. When she heard a response, her eyes went wide with alarm. "Mother of Grimm, I'm a block away... I'm heading to the Empire right away, make sure the room there is ready." She hung up and started fast walking, looking all around her.

"So no pasta then?" asked Ruby in surprise, trying to make sense of what her partner was doing.

"Nope, nope, change of plans," replied Weiss quickly and anxiously. "Big change of plans. Blake ran into White Fang not far from here, so we're going to head for safety, just in case it's not a coincidence that they have an agent chilling out a block away from me." She swallowed loudly. "Oh, I really hope I'm not being herded here."

"Are the Fang that dangerous?" asked Ruby. "If they attack, I'll fight them with you, you know that, right?"

"I know Ruby, I would trust you with my life in a fight," said Weiss. "But yes, they have some really dangerous types in their numbers. I've fought them for a long time, like the rest of my family, across three generations. And there's one golden rule we have painfully learned."

"What's that?" asked Ruby.

Weiss spared a glance for her partner and explained, "Never, ever fight on ground of the White Fang's choosing." She stopped as she saw something up ahead, then grabbed Ruby with her right hand, and raced down an alleyway, pulling her partner along. Myrtenaster was naked and glowing in her strong left hand. "Hurry, run through!" she ordered.

Ruby took her hand back and expanded Crescent Rose into its scythe form, and raced along behind her partner with the weapon balanced over her shoulder comfortably. They reached the end of the alley unmolested, but as Ruby slowed down upon reaching the sidewalk, she turned back to see where they had come from. Bathed in lamplight, just beyond the mouth of the alley, was a rabbit faunus in tight leather and a chain scythe resting across her shoulders. The woman saw Ruby looking back at her, and so she blew the student a mocking kiss.

For a moment, the young scythe-wielder's instincts roared for her to head back down the alley and meet this threat head-on. It would be an absolutely glorious battle, full of fire, blood, and clashing steel. The sort of wild battle of heroes and villains that she had daydreamed about when reading her books as a younger child. But Weiss' warning still rang in her ears, and she turned away.

"Yeah, we're being followed," declared Ruby as she rejoined Weiss. "Where are we heading?"

"Hurry, across the road!" urged Weiss. General consternation greeted the sudden appearance of two heavily armed teenagers sprinting across the road, but they paid it no heed, making their way down the road and out of sight of the alleyway, until they found themselves at the foot of the great towers that Vale was so well known for.

As Weiss led them up an elaborate set-down drive to the front entrance, a number of security personnel seemed to appear as if from thin air, reacting to the appearance of two armed arrivals with understandable alarm. But a man at the back with a set of very official looking gold stripes on his suit jacket's upper arms immediately called the goons off.

"Hold up, boys and girls, it's the Schnee," he announced while turned towards his crew. He faced and quickly walked up to the heiress and very formally gestured her towards the front entrance. "Miss Weiss Schnee, I presume," he said. "Your head of security just called us and explained. Follow me please. Will this young Miss be accompanying you?"

Weiss nodded at her team leader. "This is Miss Rose, we attend Beacon together, and yes, she's coming with me."

The security office nodded. "Understood, the SDC retained room is available, follow me please."

Weiss walked on ahead with the confident air of someone who had done it all before and already had the t-shirt, thank you very much. But when Ruby followed her friend into the luxurious lobby of the illustrious Empire Hotel, she looked around herself in awe. It was similar to a lot of the architecture back in Beacon, but everywhere it was just that last touch of luxury above. It was intimidating for someone so unused to that style of luxury.

She rushed up ahead alongside Weiss and muttered, "I so don't look like I belong here."

Weiss took her hand reassuringly. "Of course you do."

Ruby snorted. "I have the dress, yes, but the giant scythe, as well as no jewelry? Bit of a give away."

"You'd be surprised," said Weiss as they waited for the security guard to call an elevator with a swipe of his override card. "Most society girls who happen to be in the dance will eschew anything like jewelry. So there's not a society boy or girl here who wouldn't look at you and just assume you're one of them. We may be stylish, but we're not completely impractical." She paused and blushed a little. "I don't suppose you know what that means…"

"Alice told me," said Ruby tersely. "Along with a few other things."

"Oh, right," sighed Weiss, deflating just a little. "That talk. Goody."

"So where are we going?" asked Ruby as the elevator arrived.

"My father's company has a suite retained here as a shelter, available for the family if we need a secure place to go," explained Weiss. "I don't like it because they board up the windows to stop snipers. But as boltholes go, you're not going to find much better."

The elevator carried them through to a floor near the top of the tall building, well into the rarefied, more luxurious rooms. The Empire security chief ushered them along to a room near the elevator, which had a man bearing a simple, but effective looking, rifle-sword combo, whose well-tailored suit bore the SDC snowflake emblem. The man greeted both Weiss and her teammate gravely and politely. Before he let them into the room, he made one final sweep while they waited outside.

"All clear, please enjoy your stay, Miss Schnee, Miss Rose," said the SDC guard.

Ruby quickly rushed in with Weiss and closed the door of the suite, then slumped against the solid oak. "Ahh, Weiss, what on Remnant is happening!?" She turned and looked at Weiss with a grimace. "There was an armed faunus woman in the alley, did you see her? A rabbit woman with a ballistic chain scythe."

"No, I didn't," said Weiss as she walked further into the room and collapsed upon a couch. "But I'm not surprised."

Ruby walked away from the door and towards Weiss. It was a gorgeous suite of rooms, with luxurious carpet, furnishings, and a display screen that covered most of a wall between two doorways that led into the bedrooms. As Weiss had described, the windows were boarded up with armoured plate, which rather spoiled the comforting effect.

"Lifestyles of the rich and the famous," breathed Ruby as she looked around. "Why weren't you surprised?"

"Because I knew I wasn't being paranoid, and I saw a man who was a White Fang agent on the street when I said we needed to go. Bunch of mongrel scum," she finished with an angry mutter. "So much for my dinner plans."

"Were they waiting for you?" asked Ruby.

"I doubt it, but I knew if they were that close," began Weiss, "Someone was going to see me and I'd be too tempting a target of opportunity to pass up."

"We could have fought them," suggested Ruby as she took a seat next to her friend. "Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster, we'd have seen them off."

"Ruby, these aren't sparring matches," pointed out Weiss in a strained voice. "People die when the SDC and those animals tangle. All too often it's my people. You're one of the best combatants I've ever seen, Ruby, but it's a different story, fighting until the red you see isn't their aura gauge, but their life's blood. The White Fang's field agents aren't like their protesters or their labour agitators or their other useful idiots. They're ruthlessly strong. They want me dead, and they'd kill you to do it."

She threw up her hands, fast becoming emotional. "I can't ask you to risk that for me! What would I say to your father, what would I say to Yang?"

Ruby stood up from the couch and put a hand on Weiss' shoulder as she walked by, looping around to face her. "Weiss, have faith in me. I want to protect people; in particular I want to protect my friends. I know what I have to sacrifice to do that." When Weiss opened her mouth to protest, Ruby shook a finger at her. "Nope," she said to forestall her partner. "Just trust your team leader."

Weiss looked up at her friend in wonder. She wanted to protest, to ask if Ruby realised what she was setting herself up for. But those silver eyes were implacable, and she knew that it was right to trust this girl whom she knew so well, who was still so mysterious. Weiss swallowed and nodded. "Alright, next time we take on the White Fang, I'll remember that I can trust you to fight. But let me make the call, I've been dancing with the Fang and other militants since I was fourteen, and I've had a target on my back for even longer. I know when things aren't what they seem."

"Alright, Weiss, a bit of teamwork and we'll be fine," declared the team leader.

The heiress snorted in amusement at that. "Fine, let me call Blake. Better let them know what happened. Go get cleaned up, I'll order room service. I don't feel like making a scene at the hotel restaurant. You can take either of the rooms. The bathroom is just through that door over there.

Ruby walked off to the bathroom, while Weiss walked to a countertop along the side of the room, and pulled open a cabinet, pulling out a wine bottle from within. "Way too long a day," she complained to herself before opening the bottle and leaving it to breathe. On her scroll she found Blake's number with one hand and tapped it while her other hand pulled out a champagne flute.

"Weiss," buzzed the speaker on the scroll. "Did you get my warning?"

"I did, it came almost too late," said Weiss, setting the scroll to speaker mode as she poured her champagne.

A muffled voice could be heard, and some struggling, before Yang's voice came over the line. "Did they attack; is Ruby alright!?"

"Almost and yes, Yang, could you put Blake back on?" asked Weiss with a sigh.

There was more scrabbling, and then the tone of the background white noise changed subtly. "You're on speaker now, Weiss," said Blake.

"Splendid," drawled Weiss as she took a welcome sip of the Atlesian bubbly, a sweeter varietal that suited her.

"What the fuck is 'almost'?" asked Yang angrily, and Weiss could hear a slight slur in the words.

"Cool down, Yang," snapped Weiss, irritated by the protest. "Ruby's fine. Look, once I got the heads up about White Fang, I saw that there were a couple around me. So I got Ruby and we ran for safety."

"_You _ran away from the White Fang?" asked Blake in surprise. Weiss leaned against the counter and glared at the scroll.

"I'm not crazy, Blake, I never fight the White Fang on any ground I think they've prepared," explained Weiss. "I've known a number of people who paid with their lives for ignoring that advice." She looked in surprise at her champagne flute as she realised it was already empty, and promptly refilled it.

"So were you chased?" asked Yang.

"Ruby says she saw a rabbit faunus behind us, watching us," said Weiss hesitantly.

"About five-six, slim build, dyed purple hair, chain scythe?" asked Blake.

"I … I don't know," admitted Weiss. "I didn't see her, Ruby just told me about it. She did mention a chain scythe."

"That was who we saw at the Old Bones," said Yang excitedly.

Blake hmm'd loudly. "I don't think they were targeting you, she never would have walked into the pub if they knew you were around. Someone must have spotted you right after she arrived."

"I can believe that," agreed Weiss. "It's a bit comforting to know I'm not being tracked," she admitted quietly.

"Where's my sister, Weiss?" asked Yang. "Actually, where are you?"

"Empire Hotel, my family has a suite here on permanent hire as a safehouse of sorts," explained Weiss. "Ruby is off cleaning up after all the running."

"Well, that must be nice," drawled Yang dryly.

"You'll need to get Ruby to show off her new dress for you," said Weiss with a smirk before noting with alarm her glass was almost empty again. 'Does this thing have a leak?' she pondered, glancing around for any spills and finding nothing. "Anyway, where are you guys?"

"In a taxi heading to Yang's home," said Blake. "Yang busted a couple of the Fangs in the face, so we're getting out of the way for a bit."

"Right," replied Weiss. "Yang, you should probably give Ruby a call yourself if you want to talk to her.

"Sure," said Yang. "If you have a picture of her in that new dress, send it to me, okay? Seeya!"

The scroll made a click and the background static changed pitch again. "Blake?" asked Weiss. "Is it just you on the line?"

"Yes, Weiss, what's up?"

Weiss turned, leaning back against the counter with her scroll beside her. She pulled Myrtenaster free and held the hilt up to her gaze. "Blake, how did you know?"

"How did I know what?" asked Blake in bemusement.

"How did you know they were Fang? How did you know they were agents? How did you know what a White Fang kill team is called?" asked Weiss in rapid succession as she ran her thumb over the pommel of her weapon. "Goddammit, Blake, where have you tangled with the Fang and why didn't you tell me?"

"You think the White Fang just have condos in the city?" asked Blake angrily. "They camp out beyond the rural areas, where I used to live. Everyone had to learn."

"Of course," sighed Weiss, sliding index and thumb around the pommel. 'Just how long a day has it been?' she asked herself idly.

"I didn't expect to be tangling with the Fang, Weiss, this isn't something I expected to be relevant," explained Blake further.

"Okay, Blake," said the heiress numbly. "We'll talk about it later. I need to go order food for Ruby now."

"Sure thing, Weiss," said Blake. "Glad you guys are fine, I was a bit worried."

"Thanks for getting us the warning, it helped a lot," admitted Weiss, as she twisted her hand and the top half of the pommel began to slide around a screw cap.

"Talk to you tomorrow," said Blake, and then the line went dead, with a slow recurring beep.

"Great," muttered Weiss. She turned the cap clockwise to slide it back into place. "No, not that long a day." A ring tone in the room caught her attention and she snapped her gaze up and to the side, and she saw Ruby, scroll in hand, watching her from a few feet away. No, she soon realised, staring at the hilt of Myrtenaster.

Ruby glanced at the open champagne bottle and then at the screw cap pommel and swallowed visibly. The scroll buzzed thunderously in the still room. She walked up to Weiss, toe to toe before her, and placed a gentle hand on the older girl's cheek. Her lips moved, mouthing a clear, unmistakable, 'No', as she pressed the button to take the call. Then she walked away to talk to her excitable, anxious sister.

Weiss staggered to the couch and slumped onto it, dropping her dust rapier upon the coffee table. "Dammit," she whispered.


	7. Paint the Town Red

**A/N: Well, took a little longer to produce this than expected, because it got a little longer than expected. For people who like Ruby and/or violence, this chapter should be right up your alley, because it's packed with both. Next chapter will share the character focus around a little. Big thank you to my two proofreaders, Leviticus Wilkes (who has just put out a new chapter to The Second Step) and SLthethird. **

**We've just hit 4,000 views for Four Deadly Secrets, and I'd really like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story. As always, reviews are very welcome, would love to hear from people as to how you think the story is going and what people would like to read more of as we go forward.**

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, Ruby, you are <em>not<em> watching cartoons at this hour, are you?" growled Weiss as she stamped out of her hotel bedroom early saturday morning. The ivory-haired girl's eyes flashed dangerously, and she reflected it was just as well she didn't have a hangover; she was feeling emotionally shaky as it was.

"Of course I am," replied Ruby from her place on the couch, feet up on the coffee table as she slouched into the cushions. "All the best ones are on at this time," she pointed out in a knowledgeable tone.

Weiss walked over to the couch and took up the remote and turned off the absurdly oversized screen, ignoring the protesting 'hey!' from her comrade. Instead she sat down on the coffee table in front of Ruby, hunching over the younger girl's knees.

"Do you hate me?" asked Weiss in a tone so solemn it shot a fearful spark up Ruby's back.

"Well, you did just turn off Pixie the Rabbit, so this probably isn't the best time to ask," said Ruby with a lopsided smile.

"Ruby, please!" hissed Weiss, pulling at her ponytail in frustration.

"Would you just sit on the couch?" asked Ruby with a deep sigh. "Hate you? Of all the... Seriously, Weiss, if you keep this up, I may be forced to punish as your team leader."

"If you wanted to hate me, I'd understand," said Weiss miserably. "I've got you into this mess. If the White Fang start gunning for you too, it'd be my fault."

"Yang tells me your Aura can help burn off hangovers," pointed out Ruby helpfully. "Maybe it will help you with the drama queening."

"Drama queening!?" protested Weiss explosively.

"Yes, drama queening!" shot back Ruby. "Hate you? As if! You're going to be embarrassed when you recall this conversation, you know."

Weiss sighed and touched on the subject she was really hurting about. "This isn't … I knew you were trying to keep your orientation hidden, I'm not sure from what, but clearly you were." Ruby frowned darkly and sat up, resting her hands on her thighs. "And I undermined you as leader, and I should understand how wrong that was, better than anyone."

"How did you even know I was into girls, anyway?" demanded Ruby, finally exhibiting some honest anger. "I never told anyone, I haven't dated anyone since I entered Beacon. I was so careful! You told Miltia you knew who it was, and you're clearly not surprised now that I've admitted it, so you knew."

"I've known for a few weeks," admitted Weiss quietly.

"For a few weeks!?" gasped Ruby, eyes like bright moons. "Our first morning run, you were asking me about boys! No, you couldn't have!"

"Yes, and I was also asking you to stay away from Miltiades," pointed out Weiss with a wry smile. "I was giving you an opening to correct me, if you wanted to," she explained. "I wouldn't have bothered if I hadn't known both of you were into girls, now would I?"

That explanation made Ruby close her eyes and groan as she looked away. She was kicking herself internally for not making the realisation at the time. "Alice told you about Miltiades and herself, I get that much," said Ruby. "But I still don't see how you found out about me."

"Do you remember a couple weeks ago, I went into Vale for an SDC function that father wanted me to represent the company at?" asked Weiss, a little bashfully, and waited for Ruby to nod. "Well, I ran into someone you used to know at Signal."

Ruby made a connection instantly. "Viridia Kettlebowl," she all but growled. "That chatterbox." Her eyes flicked off to the side and she muttered, "Always knew she was money."

"Chatterbox, yes," conceded Weiss slowly, "And a society girl who is … going through some hard times. I can sympathise. You didn't like her?"

That got a blank expression from Ruby. "She was one of the few who broke up with me before I broke up with them," she explained in an odd voice. Weiss was taken aback on a few points by Ruby's reply and it showed clearly in her face. "What … she didn't mention we dated? It was only for a week, so I guess it didn't really amount to much."

Weiss looked at her for a second, then rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure, like I was never going to find that out, Viridia, well played. Idiot." The ivory-haired girl shook her head and returned her focus to Ruby. "No, she didn't. If you don't mind me asking, what made her break up with you?"

The angry cast to Ruby's face dissolved in a storm of blushes as she looked away. "Ahh! Viridia wanted a bit more from me than I was ready for at the time. Apparently it was a deal-breaker for her." Ruby shrugged helplessly. "Things weren't ever quite right between us after that. She … kind of awkwardly tried to patch things up at a party in my last year but I wasn't going to let it go any further than that."

"I guessed that you weren't the greatest of friends," said Weiss with a small smile. She visibly hesitated, causing Ruby to sigh irritably.

"Alright, what did she accuse me of? demanded Ruby.

"She said you broke the hearts of most of the girls in your year group, and a good chunk of the year under you, at one time or another," explained Weiss. "I told her that sounded like crap though."

"Oh," said Ruby, suddenly shy. "That."

Weiss blinked at the girl, who squirmed awkwardly. A laughing fit came over the heiress, who clamped her hands over her mouth to try and rein it in.

"It wasn't as bad as it sounds!" protested Ruby. "I was popular with the girls in my year. I told Yang I just wanted to be a normal girl when I came to Beacon; I'm not sure how she interpreted that, but for me, I wanted to stop being the centre of attention in my year group!" She got up off the couch and began to pace anxiously. "I got jumped two years and placed in Beacon freaking Academy, and, well, you tell me, Weiss. Can I hold my own in combat here?"

"Hold your own?" echoed Weiss with one eyebrow halfway to her hairline. "You'd be in the running for the second-to-Weiss award in this year group for strongest student."

Ruby turned to look at Weiss silently for several seconds, biting her tongue. "Right, so, that's in an age group two years further on, in Remnant's preeminent school for Hunters. So imagine what I was like at Signal?"

Weiss blinked slowly as the ramifications settled in. "Oh, of course. No one would have been able to keep pace with you."

"Towards the end my biggest problem in the monthly sparring tournaments was avoiding repeats of what happened to Miltia," said Ruby quietly. "Which I handled okay. But I mean, I had classmates start forfeiting or feigning injury. It gave me a … well, a cult status. I made clear to the boys that there was no interest there, but the girls in my year, and the year below, all took it and ran with it."

"You sound unhappy about it?" noted Weiss as Ruby flopped back onto the couch.

"I think I became a status symbol rather than a person," complained Ruby with just a hint of bitterness under her voice. "Who would be the one to capture the heart of Ruby Rose, they would ask. So it seemed that any girl who was anywhere north of bi-curious wanted to see if they could be the one on my arm. There were a lot of relationships that I ended very early. I never cheated. But I did have a lot of girlfriends that didn't last long."

"So is that why you haven't tried to get on the dating scene at Beacon?" asked Weiss gently.

"What? Oh god no, it's because everyone here is two years older than me," explained Ruby. "It's … look, don't laugh," she protested when Weiss began to stifle giggles. "It's intimidating, everyone here is at least two years older, they have all sorts of tastes and … expectations that are in line with that and the looks to match, yeah, it intimidates me." She grimaced like she had just bitten through a lemon. "To say nothing of Yang. There is no way I could let her know."

"What, you think Yang will judge you?" asked Weiss in shock. "Look, everything I've heard tells me Yang is not a stickler for gender in her partners. You can ask her yourself, but I doubt she'd be judging."

"Seriously, even if that's true, that's not the issue; I'm terrified she'd beat seven shades of dust out of whoever I hook up with," pointed out Ruby. "In my first year at Signal, some boy didn't get the hint that I wasn't interested, and Yang found out and pulverised him. Ever since, everyone in my year group knew that I would go after anyone who told Yang anything about my love life. Or worse, that Yang would. I could hide it at Signal, but what can I do when she's in my team?" The girl frowned and shook her head. "Did Viridia say anything else?"

"Nothing you didn't just tell me in your own words," said Weiss with a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder. "God, I have such a hard time imagining you with game," she added with a laugh prompting Ruby to stick her tongue out at her childishly.

"Then I guess it's your turn for questions again," pointed out Ruby, which made Weiss stop and gulp.

* * *

><p>Mornings started early in the Scarletina household. Even before the cafe opened for business, the kitchen was preparing for the day's trade. Velvet was also pressed into action, which was itself no small part of the reason she did not go home that often. In this hive of activity, Miltia was the groggy rock in the midst of the stream, immune to the constant motion that surrounded her. Sat at a table with a strong coffee before her, she tried to gather her thoughts for the day.<p>

Her isolation from the world ended when Velvet came over with a cup of coffee in one hand and a plate with a pair of muffins in the other, and joined her at the table in the corner. "You look pretty out of it. Didn't sleep well?"

"No," admitted Miltia head bowed.

"Nightmares?" asked Velvet in concern.

"Maybe," said Miltia softly. She looked up and managed a sly little smile. "And a little regret," she added. Velvet gave her a questioning look. "I should have taken up your waitress' offer. I think I'd have slept a lot better twisted up in the sheets with someone cute keeping me warm."

Velvet rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Please don't say things like that; I know that girl and her family. And you do realise she was just needling me when she was inviting you over?"

"Well, sure she was needling you, but then, so am I," teased Miltia, in slightly better spirits.

"You," grumbled Velvet, before her expression softened. "But still, nightmares again?"

"Yes, yes," confessed Miltia tersely. "Do me a favour, don't mention the nightmares to Alice. She's not the sort of girl who would know how to deal with that."

"Alright, but only as long as you promise not to start lying to me about it," said Velvet after sipping at her coffee to buy time to consider.

"Deal," replied Miltia.

The pair were silent for a while with their breakfast and their thoughts. But after a while, Miltia realised Velvet was eyeing her with a conflicted expression, a mix of concern and dismay. The girl in red sighed and made a rolling gesture. "Come on, don't just stew there all morning."

"You know, at first I was sure you were just faking to cover for the fact you were eavesdropping," began Velvet anxiously. "Then you didn't hear me the first two times and you pinned Sara up against the wall and … well, I wasn't sure. But you were right there, you had to have heard."

Miltia couldn't suppress a quick giggle. "Velvet, did I scandalise you? You've never seen me go hard on someone, have you?"

"Ah, no, you're not as discreet as you think you are, dear," refuted Velvet as she rolled her eyes. "I guess it was a little strange because I thought that girl was straight as an arrow, but she certainly wasn't complaining."

"I could never be with a girl that couldn't kiss," noted Miltia with a certain relish. "Or didn't like to. I could handle not having the rest of it, but kissing is just not optional for me," she said, finishing with an embarrassed but cheeky smile.

"Is that so?" asked Velvet mildly.

The girl nodded, then shifted a little awkwardly. "Do you promise not to tell Alice about the nightmares?" she asked all of a sudden.

Velvet was about to protest that she already had, but then her eyes widened and she said instead, "Yes, of course."

"Do you promise to not ask me about Ruby's past?" asked Miltia as a follow-up.

"I do."

Miltiades sighed and rubbed at her face. "Fine," she said, half-groaning. "I heard you talk about Blake."

"I knew it!" barked Velvet as she slapped the table, shaking the cups. "You vixen!" she accused. Miltia stayed silent, drinking her coffee as she waited for Velvet to calm back down. "You promise to keep this to yourself?"

"I do," echoed Miltia.

Velvet paused and frowned, not sure what to do now that she had forced the discovery.

"How did you find out?" asked Miltia quietly.

"A faunus can pick up on another faunus by smell, at least, after they've been exerting themselves a bit. So I found out when we all had our blow-up with Team Ruby."

"So, what are you thinking?" continued the girl in red.

"I worry that she may have been involved in some sort of militant group," admitted Velvet. "You heard my dad, I guess. We think she may have been caught up in something bad."

"Tell me, Velvet," began Miltia in a low, curious voice. "If you find out that Blake was a member of the White Fang or something, and was kicked out or ran away or whatever, and then came to Beacon … what would you do?"

"I want to find out if she's an active member, first," explained the faunus girl. That made Miltiades sit right up in her chair. "And yes, that's a possibility. She's somehow gotten herself on a team with the heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation. If they could kill Weiss it would be the biggest coup by a faunus militant group in fifty years. And it would set faunus-human relations back by those same fifty years."

Before Miltiades could summon a response to that doomsday scenario, there was a knock at the door, heralding the arrival of the waitress for the breakfast shift. "She's rostered on again?" asked Miltia in surprise.

"Her mother arranges for her to get friday late, and then saturday and sunday breakfast shifts to help keep her out of trouble," explained Velvet with a wicked chuckle as she stood up to let the girl in. "Knowing you're going to get forced to work with or without a hangover puts a damper on partying."

"Fox girls just keep sounding more and more interesting," said Miltia in a carefully innocent voice. Velvet shot her a dirty look as she opened the door.

The girl in question sauntered in, thanking Velvet cheerfully and managing a hip-swaying walk across the cafe floor. "And hello, Miltia," the girl said brightly, getting a silent wave from the Beacon student.

Velvet returned to the table and took a bite out of her muffin as she fixed Miltia with a look, which was studiously ignored. Finally Velvet shook her head and finished off her coffee. "We better get a move on if we want to catch the right airship back to Beacon," she suggested at last. Miltia scarfed down the rest of her food and coffee, happy to get a get a move on as well.

The pair said their goodbyes to Velvet's parents and made to be on their way. Velvet had to pry herself from her mother's embrace after the woman sighed loudly and forced her daughter into several promises to call more often than she was. While she was tied up, Miltia drifted towards the door and was startled to find the young waitress sauntering into her path.

"So you'll pass on my number?" asked the waitress, eyes bright with wickedness.

"Just relax, alright, I said so, didn't I?" replied Miltia. "I'll find someone, don't stress." Although she had confessed in the end to the eavesdropping, Sara the fox faunus had given her the alibi that let her extract concessions for doing so, so she figured she better follow through. And in any case, the thought of the mischief she could employ with the girl's scroll number was enticing. Miltia was no natural-born prankster, but she had her moments.

"Lovely," said the fox girl, before her ears twitched with sly intent. "And as a thank you…" She lifted on her tip-toes and kissed the other student quickly, hands held behind her back. The older girl blinked in surprise as she looked back at the girl, who was smiling wickedly but looking over Miltia's shoulder instead of at her.

"Miltia!" snapped Velvet irritably as she approached her partner. The student folded her arms and glared between Velvet and the waitress, unable to find the words to properly convey her disaffection.

"Ease up, Velvs! No tongue this time, promise," said the waitress with rosy cheeks and clever eyes, before walking away, ears and tail still twitching away playfully.

Velvet stared at Miltia for a few moments, a flat, unimpressed look on her face. "I promised her I'd find someone who wasn't a jackass to give her number to, that's all," explained Miltia as she opened the door and led Velvet out. "Nothing seedy." Velvet shrugged and followed her partner out, accepting the answer.

"Hey, Miltia!" came a voice from the cafe, causing the two students to turn around in surprise. The fox faunus was leaning out of the door with a mischievous smile beaming out. "Thanks for coming over last night!" She instantly disappeared back inside the cafe and closed the door behind herself.

Velvet blinked and turned to Miltia with a 'what the hell' expression. The dark haired girl held up her hands defensively and stepped away. "I have _no idea_ what she's talking about; she's just being a vixen," she protested quickly, swallowing hard as Velvet glared at her. "And it's my word against hers, you can't prove anything!"

"Oh, Miltia, I suggest you be very careful next time we play Truth or Dare," warned Velvet in an ominous tone. "I will ask you about this."

"Come on, Velvet, you know she's just being a prankster," defended the other girl, a defence she had to maintain the whole walk to the train station, rueing her decision to tease Velvet about the girl earlier in the morning.

* * *

><p>Birds chirped in unseen trees, and light drifted through gauzy curtains. Brilliant little shafts cut through the shadows of the room, dust motes dancing on their beams. It was quiet save the little sounds; the birds, the distant thrum of a water heater, the slow and low creaks of the house settling and, somewhere, distantly, the sound of Yang snoring gently.<p>

It was in this gentle tableau that Blake Belladonna stirred into wakefulness. Her head felt like it had been packed with cotton wool. Everything was fuzzy and the shafts of light glowed impossibly as her eyelids fluttered open over her honey irises. The ceiling was unfamiliar, as was the bed. Having spent the night helping Yang raid her absent father's liquor cabinet, she felt like she had rust on every joint.

'_That's right, I'm at the Xiao-Long family home,_' she remembered slowly. She glanced quickly to her side after a moment's consideration, but there was no one else in the bed with her, or any sign there had been. "Oh, Grimm and Dust," she groaned to herself as she worked hard to shake off the lethargy and sit up.

The bed was a single, in the middle of a spacious bedroom that screamed middle class family home, with coverlets of red roses on snow white. The whole room was an eclectic mix of princess and tomgirl. There were posters on the wall, but not of the usual media starlets and pop stars. Famous huntresses instead had pride of place, including a few who were now Beacon faculty, such as Glynda. In the corner of the room was a fixed-blade scythe, with what looked to be a pump action slider near the top. From the size, though, Blake figured it had been a young girl's training weapon and she suspected that if she walked over she would find the weapon had no edge.

There was a desk against a wall that held painting kits and miniatures from some game the faunus student would have been at a complete loss to name. Above it was pasted to the wall sheet after sheet of design diagram, blueprint, technical spec, concept art and progress shot of a scythe of absolutely mind-boggling complexity. Mounted on the wall with them was a series of chassis, housings, joints and other mechanical paraphernalia upon the wall, seemingly a dismantled prototype. Blake dragged herself out of the bed with considerable discomfort, and approached the wall. As she suspected, they were the design documents for Crescent Rose.

'_So this is Ruby's old room, then,_' she thought to herself. Curious as the proverbial, Blake began to look around the room, searching for clues as to what made the girl who led her into battle tick.

A small bookshelf caught her eye. The books were about what she was expecting, pulpy adventures, as well as fantasy and sci-fi novels, a number of them in a visual novel format. Tales abounded of Huntresses and Princesses, sometimes one and the same and sometimes as a team, who would vanquish legendary Grimm and save the beleaguered citizenry. She was fascinated to find among them a series where the Huntress and the Princess were a romantic couple. Blake wanted to look deeper into that to try and win her bet with Yang, but knew she couldn't; the series was popular in the mainstream, and didn't prove anything.

Her sensitive ears picked up grumbling and cursing from further in the house. Yang was waking up, to the faunus girl's dismay. Blake threw her gaze around the room, despairing at all the fascinating insights she had yet to find into her leader that she was about to have to walk away from. Sure, she knew it was snooping and not a great look, but when you signed up for life and death situations with someone who was clearly keeping enough secrets to open her own branch of the Royal Secret Service, niceties like privacy seemed a little self-indulgent. After all, she had overheard everything Velvet had heard and it had left her scrambling for answers without any way to find them.

She walked around the room, looking at the posters and photos on the wall. One that caught her eye was a picture of an elaborate old mansion, looking run-down and decrepit. Two distinctive great stone Beowolfs marked the entrance. When she looked at it, it seemed out of place stuck between shots of Beacon Academy and Signal Academy and in fact it was the fact that there seemed to be nothing interesting about it at all that caught her eye. It clearly had meaning to Ruby, but there was nothing on the surface to recommend it.

"Oh come on, Ruby, give me something," she sighed to herself. "I want to understand; there's something behind that smile, a power behind the playfulness."

She turned around in a slow circle, looking for inspiration. It came to her when she spotted the bedside table, with its small drawers. Quick as a flash she was rifling through the drawers, and came up with her prize. A little red and black book with the word 'Diary' embossed upon the cover, sealed with an elastic band. Blake sat upon the bed and carefully examined the exterior of the book, just in case her notorious weapons nut of a team leader had boobytrapped it, but it was clean. The band slipped off easily and she flipped through the pages and found it full of little neat writing, sketches, with a few pictures slipped in. The date on the last page was a month before the start of the Beacon school term.

"Jackpot," whispered Blake, stuffing the book inside a vest pocket, out of sight, and then went to check on her partner.

* * *

><p>"Jaune, you <em>can't<em> hand in that as your tactics assignment to Professor Erwin!" protested Pyrrha in horror.

"She's right, Jaune," added Lie Ren as he looked his leader's maps over. "Look, you aren't protecting your flanks at all. You're not taking advantage of any of this cover, so if the enemy moves aggressively, they'll catch you out in the open here. And if they have anyone here or here, you'd lose your whole command in the crossfire."

Jaune groaned as slumped back against his bed, wedged up into the corner of their dorm. "I don't know why they make us take this course, we're training to hunt Grimm, there's just a couple people in your team and your target doesn't fight like people."

"It's important to know, Jaune," urged Pyrrha. "Huntresses also get called up in times of war, you know that. You wanted to follow in the footsteps of your grandfather, didn't you? He fought in a war."

"We also get called in for dangerous criminals, the sort that have auras," pointed out Ren. "And if they find insurgent groups out in the wilderness, Hunters lead the teams out there, in situations exactly like the one this assignment is for."

"We do?" echoed Jaune in a shocked tone.

"Who else is going to do it?" said Ren, close to exasperation. "This," he said, jabbing a symbol on the map with his finger, "Could be you in four years, with these the rest of us." He shook his head and began to leaf through the rest of the papers in Jaune's submission, pausing as he reached the section on logistics. "Of course, your sums are all in order. You must have been working your calculator pretty hard."

"Nah," waved off Jaune with disinterest. "Had to loan it to Nora, but didn't really need it. Look, it's just simple trig for the fuel use on the Bullhorn." Ren flipped the sheet over to the page where Jaune had done his maths by hand, and blinked in surprise. The dark haired lad was very good with his numbers by Beacon standards, but he was taken aback by the complex formulas and graphs running down the page.

"All this?" asked Ren as he held up the page.

"I can fucking add, Ren," snapped Jaune, growing irritable. "I may be useless at plotting an advance, but I can do the basics."

Nora leaned over Ren's shoulder to examine the map with the others. "I see a Huntress with a hammer there. I think Jaune has set me up to die first," she noted conversationally. "Jaune, is it because I borrowed your last pancake at breakfast?"

'Wh-what!?" blurted Jaune.

"Don't stress, Jaune, I'll probably barely scrape in a pass as well," reassured Nora flippantly. "It's no fun having to play it safe, I like to be in fast and hard with Magnhild." She pantomimed swinging a hammer down on some imaginary foe, grinning like a fiend.

"Nora," said Ren flatly as he pointed to a particular spot on the map.

"What is it, Renny-pie?" she asked playfully, before looking at where Ren's finger pointed. After a moment, she winced, screwing her face up. "Yeah, no, you gotta fix that one, leader-boy."

"Guys, can I talk to Jaune alone for a moment?" asked Pyrrha as she straightened up.

Ren and Nora exchanged glances. The young man walked on ahead towards the door, while Nora walked up to Pyrrha and clapped her on both biceps. "This is a big step, and I'm proud of you for making it," she said gleefully, unable to hold back a smile. "Just remember to take it slowly with him and use protection and-"

Nora's speech trailed off into inarticulate noise as Pyrrha turned her teammate and propelled her towards the door as hard as she could, using her semblance to accelerate the girl by magnetically repelling every bit of metal on her battle dress' webbing.

"Out! Out, out, out!" cried Pyrrha as she closed the door behind Nora, before turning to walk back towards Jaune, intent on completely ignoring Nora's comments. "So I imagine this isn't the sort of thing that showed up very often on your old school's exams?"

"It really wasn't," admitted Jaune with a helpless shrug. "I'm trying to read up on all this sort of stuff, but the textbooks are so dry. War stories may be fascinating, but the books that talk about nitty-gritty are so boring!" he declared as he slumped back onto his bed.

"I see," mused Pyrrha as she sat on the edge of Ren's bed and faced her team leader. "You're taking to the combat training very well, I noticed."

"Well, that's hands on, and I was always pretty athletic," explained Jaune with a shrug. "And you don't have to think much, just move, works pretty well for me."

Pyrrha's brows rose as listened. "Believe me, when you start sparring someone other than that meathead Cardin, you're going to need to start thinking."

Jaune looked over at his partner and hesitated before asking, "Out of our current class, is there anyone that you think I could beat?"

Pyrrha took a moment to think it through, leaning back and crossing her legs as she considered the question. "Well, you work better with your team, because you have a really good aura, and when you combine that with your shield, you can absorb punishment that would take out anyone else."

"Really?" asked Jane in surprise.

"In terms of sitting there and just absorbing hits, definitely," clarified Pyrrha. "But you're offensively pretty weak, and in a one-on-one spar, you have to be able to deal damage yourself, or you'll lose a battle of attrition. But I think you'd be a real problem for Melanie and her weapon. The other three would get you. And I think your aura and shield would give you a chance against Weiss, if you could get her to overtax herself."

"I think I see," mused Jaune.

"For what it's worth, you'll be finding out not too far from now anyway," explained Pyrrha. "I've been asking around and Beacon will be running sparring sessions in the lead-up to the Vytal tournament."

"I'm so doomed," whimpered Jaune with a haunted look.

"You'll be fine, Jaune, I know what you can do," encouraged Pyrrha. "And we'll both be there at the end." Jaune looked up and smiled at her. Silence held for a while. "But!" said Pyrrha to break the silence, "We really have to get you up to speed on some of this stuff. It would be ideal if you could just study the manuals and guides, but you always zone out and before I know it you've raided my comics collection again."

"I can't help that we share a favourite artist!" protested Jaune.

"So, we need to think of something different," mused Pyrrha. "You like board games, don't you?"

"I certainly do," said Jaune, puffing his chest out. "If it had dice and a board, I was your man."

Pyrrha giggled in spite of herself, and really couldn't say why she found the line funny instead of obnoxious. But she did, and she smiled at her partner from across the gap between their beds. "Well then. There's a lot of board games and tabletop games that follow really solid principles of strategy. Movement, suppression, supporting elements, flanks, logistics, all sorts of things. Everything you'll need to start acing these assignments."

Jaune just stared at her. "You want to teach me battle tactics…"

"Yep."

"With games?"

"Uh-huh."

"Like, dice and boards and cards and pen and paper. Like, 'game' games?"

"That's right," said Pyrrha, her smile growing with every confirmation.

The blonde youth looked at her for several seconds, then exploded into a grin so cheesy Pyrrha nearly went looking for crackers. "That is genius! Genius! Oh, Pyrrha, I could kiss you," he exclaimed before reaching across the gap between their beds, placing his hands on her head to pull her close, and then planting a kiss on her forehead. "Brilliant, I always figure out boardgames, so I can totally learn this way. I can _do_ this!"

It was just as well that Pyrrha had turned into a great, gibbering mess at the touch of Jaune's lips, for her first thoughts would have betrayed her completely if spoken aloud. Instead she beamed, cheeks as red as Ruby's cloak, and went to the door. Behind it she found Nora and Ren looking artfully casual, as if they hadn't been eavesdropping at the door.

"What on Remnant, do you have any idea how red you are?" asked Nora with a giggle. "What did Jauney-boy do?"

"You guys like your board games, right?" asked Pyrrha, carefully ignoring Nora's question.

"Wow, no seriously, you are glowing," said Nora, ignoring Pyrrha's question in turn. "You didn't flash him as you stood up or anything did you? Or did he get handsy?"

Ren gave Nora a quick elbow to straighten her up. "Yeah, we do."

"Then we're going to Vale to get all the battle-themed games we can find to teach him the fun way."

Silence greeted that statement. Nora began to twitch and tremble, and she exchanged a glance with Ren. The young man rolled his eyes at her, and nodded ever so slightly. Thus released, Nora quickly quipped, "I bet there's a lot of things you'd like to teach him 'the fun way'."

* * *

><p>Weiss was silent for a little while. Her partner waited for her, but when the seconds continued to tick by, she began to glance at the remote sitting just on the other side of Weiss' thigh. Just as she was about to make a dive for it, though, the older girl turned to face her again.<p>

"So what did Sgathan tell you?" she asked. Ruby gave her an uncertain look so Weiss reached out and took one of the girl's hands. "We didn't have this talk last night because we were too drained. But you want answers, and I want to explain. I think I owe you answers, even. I have suspicions on what she's said, but I want you to tell me everything she said first."

"She told me about the special, the dance, and said that everyone in the society scene was terrified of you," answered Ruby slowly, curling up onto the couch. "Alice, too, she said she was scared of you." Ruby coughed into her hand and looked off at the corner of the room. "Actually, I don't know why that surprises me, I still remember you being the crabby girl who yelled at me on my first day."

Weiss had the grace to blush. "You nearly blew me all the way back to Vale without the airship, dolt," she said, mostly affectionately. Ruby winked at her playfully in response, not caring about being called a dolt yet again. The heiress sighed and stood up from the couch. "You know what? Let's go down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I want a proper coffee, not the pod nonsense they have up here in the room."

"And it gets you some time to think about your answers?" asked Ruby, returning to a grin.

"Yes," admitted Weiss as she tilted her head down.

Ten minutes later the doors of the elevator closed on Weiss and Ruby, the latter of whom had been forced into the other outfit purchased from Marieke's Boutique despite many complaints.

"So what did Alice think about Crescent Rose?" asked Weiss conversationally.

Ruby shifted awkwardly as she leaned against the back of the elevator. "Oh, she liked it. From the sounds of it, if this Huntress thing doesn't pan out, I've got a great career lined up as a weapon designer. Of course, she also wondered why it looked pretty handy for taking out people as well as Grimm."

"Don't let Alice wind you up, she is so much more sneaky and dangerous than she appears," comforted Weiss as she reached over to take Ruby's hand.

"I'm fine, Weiss," reassured Ruby, though she squeezed back firmly. "Breakfast sounds good, though. Getting your coffee might help you explain better."

The older girl nodded as she stepped away. "Ruby, I _want _to explain. I want to clear things up. I know some of it … is a little awkward … and maybe a little unflattering," she admittedly slowly. "But I know you'll hear me out."

The elevator announced its arrival at the 2nd floor lobby with a ringing bell. Weiss leaned in close as they walked out of the elevator and into the spacious area. "Just stay close and follow my lead, okay?" she whispered as she guided Ruby towards a set of glass double doors. "It's not exactly a full gala set here, but it's still something of a snake pit. We may get left alone, but I can't say for sure. They may be curious about you."

"Stay close? I wonder if I should walk in on your arm and cause a nice scandal," teased Ruby with glittering eyes.

"You little minx," said Weiss under her breath without disturbing the perfect smile on her face. "I might start to doubt your naïve ingenue cover story." But Weiss's eyes went wide and she stumbled as Ruby turned and gave her a bright beaming look, suffused with life, sugar and spice, and all the earnest joy of youth. Clearly, thought Weiss, having someone she no longer had to hide her sexuality around had done wonders for Ruby's state of mind.

"Oh, ice princess, you shouldn't underestimate me, or you might fall for me too!" she teased good-heartedly, sticking her tongue out at the end.

The society girl rolled her eyes. "Should I be worried for you, or for them?" she asked in a bone-dry voice.

"I guess we'll find out," suggested Ruby pleasantly as two doormen opened the way smoothly, leading them into a large open room.

There was a dining area to the left, and a long dance floor to the right. Young people clustered around the tables, pretty and handsome, stylish and debonair, both boys and girls cut from similar cloth. Blue bloods. Like Alice had implied, they all looked innocent as angels, goody-two-shoes to the least of them. But Ruby kept the memory of that little rabbit pendant fresh in her mind, and let her eyes run over the exquisite weapons they all seemed to carry. These girls and boys had lovely plumage, but even lovelier claws.

"A table for two, Miss Schnee?" asked a staff member in livery of resplendent gold.

"Yes, towards the back somewhere private," ordered Weiss with a tone as imperious as a regina, enough to make Ruby rear up in surprise.

But the waiter nodded subserviently and gestured them on. He charted a quick path into the dining room. As they went, Ruby saw the name in gold-leaf upon the glass doors: _Tybalt the Prince_. When Weiss entered the room, a buzz of conversation erupted from the breakfasting girls and boys. But when Ruby came into view just behind the ludicrously rich heiress, a hush immediately filled the room, and anyone who hadn't been paying attention before had zeroed in on the new girl that one of the queens of the gala set had just brought to town. The young, silver-eyed girl was suddenly aware of a dozen discretely angled scrolls snapping pictures of her.

'_Great_,' she thought to herself nervously. '_Just stay calm, ignore the cameras...'_

A number of the boys tried to catch her eye as they walked through the middle of the room, but she hardly even noticed they were there. What really caught her eye, however, was Weiss. The young woman was a queen, frozen, royal and haughty among her subjects. Her poise and posture were perfect, and she walked as if her right hand held the title deeds to all Vale. Ruby was a confused mix of entranced and horrified.

When a girl at a table gave Weiss a dirty look as she passed, the heiress didn't acknowledge it outwardly. However, just as she went by, she pushed sharply on Myrtenaster's hilt and sent the tip of the weapon whipping up into the girl's juice glass, spilling it all over her dress. Ruby gawped and hurried on away from the resulting pandaemonium.

A young man who had been walking among the tables leaned against the back of an empty chair to smile winningly at the two students as they went by. "Weiss, back and in fine form, I see," noted the confident-looking young man in designer slacks and a black denim shirt.

"Yes, India, your desperate quest to become my bootlicker may begin yet again," retorted the heiress dismissively, prompting the boy to raise his hands defensively as Weiss walked by.

Just before they reached what was apparently their destination, a young woman between Ruby and Weiss in ages, happened to rise from her table and, while feigning to pass by, gracefully clattered into Ruby. She had meant to start a scene, but she ended up with a larger scene than she anticipated, because the young team leader's dense and toned body hit the girl like a truck, and she nearly bounced off Ruby's shoulder onto a table.

"Excuse me!" the girl shouted angrily. "Just what do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm sorry, you just jumped out at me," protested Ruby in confusion.

"You should watch-!" began the girl, before a voice as cold as winter itself broke in.

"Venus, I know you're as smart as you are pretty, so I'll keep this really, really simple," said Weiss viciously. "I'm not going to duel you. I don't need to step in here. I'll just tell my friend to duel you herself, and she is far more than enough to have your daddy checking if your health insurance covers 'idiotic misadventure'."

"But I-?!" stammered Venus, but she fell silent as Weiss dismissed her with a flick of her ponytail.

"Don't bore me, Venus," warned the girl frostily as she walked over and took her seat.

Ruby blinked and hurriedly followed after her partner, leaving the other girl to fume. When she took her seat, Weiss was working her scroll with one hand as she held up a forestalling finger with the other. Ruby shifted anxiously in her chair as she waited. A blue hologram popped up over Weiss' scroll and then Ruby blinked as the sound of the background din of the cafe shifted sharply in her ears.

"It's a noise canceller," explained Weiss. "Puts out a little white noise to stop people eavesdropping. They can still lipread though, so if you want to say anything particularly controversial, cover your mouth," she added with a wry grin.

Ruby shifted uncomfortably. Trying to look as casual as she could, Ruby propped her head up in her left hand, hiding her mouth in the process. "What was all that, Weiss!? You acted mean to almost every person we walked by!"

"These people would eat me if I gave them an inch," explained Weiss with a small smirk. "I had to deliver a little reminder or two that Beacon hasn't made me soft." She hesitated and then continued, head a little bowed so her ponytail slipped down to mask her lips from view. "And I wanted you to see a little of what it's like for me here. Every person in this room wants to push me, to test me, hoping to embarrass me."

"Well, if you go around being mean to everyone, I can't say I'm surprised," pointed out Ruby.

"Believe me when I say that was nothing unusual, for me or anyone else," said Weiss quietly, and Ruby was shocked to hear the sadness in the girl's voice. "There are so few friends here. Not like you and me, or the rest of our team, or Jaune's team. Only enemies and shifting alliances. I call them friends, and they call me friend, but only a few of us even like each other. And everyone just loves to cause trouble. For example, that Venus girl deliberately ran into you so she could cause a scene. She just got cold feet when I called her on it. Also when she bounced off you," she added with a giggle. "That was good to see, she didn't expect that."

"Well, I won't pretend to really understand," said Ruby slowly. "But I can sort of see where you're coming from."

A waiter came by to provide water and menus, and to take drink orders. He left with instructions to bring back Weiss' latte and Ruby's hot chocolate. The sweet-tooth choice of drink earned Ruby an affectionate shake of the head from her partner.

"So," continued Ruby when the waiter left them, "My answers?"

"Okay, tell me what Alice said to you and I'll explain," suggested Weiss calmly. Ruby began to spill out the tale of her conversation with the vivacious Miss Sgathan, while Weiss listened and nodded. When the tale came to an end, she bit her lip and considered her reply. "I can't really dispute anything," she admitted after a moment. "It's all quite true."

"Which part?" asked Ruby, looking at Weiss with her eyes wide with concern.

"It's strange to feel so embarrassed discussing this with you," mused Weiss. "Up until recently it was just an ordinary part of life, you know," she said with a wry smile. "It gives you an amazing feeling of euphoria, and when together it all lasts for so much longer." She coughed into her hand delicately. "It's not great for your judgement and sometimes makes you monstrously angry. Your aura can take a temporary dip from it, but it's such an amazing feeling."

Ruby sighed and leaned back in her seat. "So not just the champagne, but also the cocaine," she said in a tone laden with equal parts disappointment and resignation. "Is that what you had in Myrtenaster's pommel?"

Weiss nodded as she sipped at her water. "Look, I want a promise from you. I'm being honest with you, alright?"

"Alright…," said Ruby hesitantly.

"Don't try and play the rescuing Huntress on me," warned Weiss. "Yes, I still have a supply, no I'm not completely clean. If you want to discuss it with me, I'll discuss it. But if I get up one day and find my cap is empty, you're paying. It's my choice to make, don't try and take it from me."

"You're actually okay with this, Weiss?" asked Ruby in shock.

"Of course," said Weiss. "I know it must seem weird to you, but to me…," she began to say before spreading her hands helplessly. "This is what I've grown up with."

"Grown up with?" queried Ruby as she shook her head in dismay.

"I was younger than you are now when I started making waves on the scene," said Weiss. "And about the same age when I started to fight the White Fang with my friends."

"The dance…," whispered Ruby with wide-eyed interest. "That part I can understand."

"You're fine with vigilante fighting with faunus terrorists, but the charlie upsets you?" asked Weiss in surprise.

"I want to be a huntress and so do you," pointed out Ruby. "Fighting to protect people is what being a Huntress is all about. Taking things that slow you down and impair you is … well, it's not that at all!" Her face was a picture of earnestness as she held out her hands. "I would never take something that hurt my ability to fight and I can't understand why you would either."

"Well, I'll make sure not to offer, then," teased Weiss, before she froze in horror. "Oh god, I don't even want to think about what Yang would do to me if she ever thought I'd offered the special to you."

Ruby blanched at the thought. "Aheh, something worse than what she reserves for pushy would-be boyfriends," she muttered.

"There's more to it than just peer pressure," pushed the team leader, discerning that she wasn't hearing everything. "You have your own reasons for doing it, don't you?" She watched her partner's expression shift and flicker, her lashes fluttering as she struggled with her desire to be truthful. There was a weakness at the heart of the problem, and there had never been a Schnee who admitted weakness gladly. Watching her open her mouth to speak was like watching a distant landslide, so slow and gradual from far away, but such a tumult at the scene.

"When I was twelve, I survived my first assassination attempt," admitted Weiss in a haunted tone. "Not the White Fang; a smaller splinter group that doesn't exist now." She smiled joylessly. "Daddy wiped them out, you see. But it was terrifying for me. It's one thing to fight someone who means to kill you if they can, it's … it's quite another to be hunted."

"I can believe that," said Ruby gently.

"That was my introduction to adolescence, and I've had to survive a few more since then," elaborated Weiss. "So as soon as I thought I was able, I began to fight back with those society friends who were talented enough. And we hit a lot of faunus groups really hard, and we did well enough that when father found out he didn't say anything."

"Saying nothing means you were doing well?" asked Ruby in confusion.

"Of course," replied Weiss with raised brows, not sure where Ruby was coming from. "If we were doing something wrong, he'd have something to talk about. If he has nothing to say then we're doing well." Ruby slowly blinked, contrasting that with her experiences with her own father. "But fighting and surviving, and then coming to this snake pit as the only social scene I ever knew, well, you need a little help to be happy. The special is easy to get hold of, did the trick and it's just a part of life here." She leaned back in her seat and sniffed haughtily, throwing her ponytail back over her shoulder. "Besides, there's more to being fashionable than just what you wear."

Ruby leaned forward, a troubled little smile on her face. "I'd hug you now, but I think you'd get mad if I made a scandal for you."

"Thoughtful of you," said Weiss wryly. "I have enough trouble with boys who would like to make a personal achievement of me without giving the girls the idea they have a chance." That comment brought Ruby up short, and she looked contemplatively at her partner for a while. "What is it?" asked Weiss uncertainly.

"I guess we both know how that feels," said Ruby quietly.

"Heh, yes," was all Weiss said.

"Alice said you've stayed clean lately," prodded Ruby, switching tracks.

"I bet she actually said boring," replied Weiss as she rolled her eyes.

"That's not boring, it's good!" protested Ruby before twitching, "...yeah, she said 'boring'."

"Thought so," said the heiress as a shadow crossed her face. "I have been, for the most part. I was in Mistral, when someone close to me died, and I didn't handle it very well, and a lot of things happened that I don't like to talk about." Her voice went distant as she talked, and Ruby could see painful memories were bubbling up inside her partner. "And then my father told me if I didn't straighten up quickly then there would be no Beacon Academy for me."

A memory twigged for Ruby. "Your 'hypothetical' bender that you were so unusually specific about," she realised breathily.

"Maybe," muttered Weiss, discomfited that Ruby had so quickly made the link. "I didn't … like myself for a long time after that," she admitted. "So, I set it all aside and focused on my goals. I'll admit, it's been good for my performances."

Their talk was interrupted as the young man whom Weiss had called India walked over to their table, chair in hand, with Venus close behind. "Come on, Weiss, you can't be so unsociable after we've all missed you." He planted his chair backwards and took a seat, extending a hand towards Ruby while Venus leaned against his back. "Hello, poppet, fancy a wager?"

"A wager?" asked Ruby as she folded her arms, giving the older lad a baleful look. "Who are you, and why would I want to bet on anything with you?"

"India, we're having a private conversation," protested Weiss coldly.

The boy turned to give the heiress an admonishing look. "Hey now, you can't disappear for so long and then just ignore us all when you come back. Especially when you come back with a mysterious angel at your side," he said, a rakish grin forming over his faux-disappointment.

The boy turned back to look Ruby in the eye, his face evolving for a third time, now into a winsome smile directed at her. "My name is India Tullamarine. I'd love to hear your name, sweet?"

The trainee huntress glanced across the rest of the cafe and noted to her horror that they were very much the centre of attention now. Her eyes flicked back towards the intruder and the girl at his shoulder, and there was depth and danger in her gaze. The boy was tall, topping out over six foot, and slender. Blonde and dashing in designer labels and the latest trends, Ruby could tell easily that he was all too aware of his attractiveness.

"I'm Ruby Rose," she introduced quietly.

"That's a cute name, I like it," praised India.

"A cute name for a very cute addition to our little society," echoed Venus with a broad smile at the younger girl.

"Venus…," complained Weiss in a low grumble.

"Ease up, Weiss, your friend is adorable, let her have a compliment or two," pouted Venus as she folded her arms. She was taller and fuller figured than Weiss, although similar in age. Long wavy hair cascaded down her back in a stained oak brown. She was dressed in a navy blue mini-skirt, calf boots in the same colour, and a baggy white sweater with a fashion house's emblem on the front.

The heiress was utterly unimpressed and snorted, turning towards her partner. "India's family are in R and D," she explained in a gentle tone. "They specialise in avionics."

"Just so, Weiss," said India amicably. "Thank you for the introduction."

His female friend made a silly little gesture for attention. "My name is Venus Carlton, Miss Rose," introduced the other newcomer. "We're an old family of stock brokers and merchants. Nice to meet you."

"So, you're also our friend Schnee's friend?" asked India.

"Yes," said Ruby without offering any extra detail.

"You shouldn't be so shy with us," noted Venus. "I promise we don't bite."

India smiled handsomely. "Time to break the ice then. This might sound a little strange, but I find the best way to learn about someone new is to have a little dance."

"A dance, is it?" mused Weiss, just as Ruby began to worry about her non-existent ballroom talents. "So you want to duel and you want a wager." Weiss pondered the idea, before deciding to trust in Ruby's skill. "Interesting. What sort of wager did you have in mind?" Ruby looked at Weiss in surprise.

The young man rolled his eyes, his smile now positively humorous. "Yes, a duel and a wager to both make it interesting and make sure you fight honestly." He looked towards Weiss, who preemptively cocked an eyebrow at him. "Nothing too serious at stake, of course. Perhaps a kiss from the lovely Weiss when I win," he suggested.

"Oh, is that all?" asked Weiss a little airily. "You may as well ask for the whole play; you won't win against Ruby."

"Ooh, arrogant; I like it," exclaimed India, clapping his hands once with glee. "So, there _is_ more to you than meets the eye, if Weiss is so confident."

"I could have told you that," sighed Venus. "Walking into her was like walking into a brick wall. For such a delicate looking girl, you must be one hell of a gym rat."

Weiss gave Venus a sharp and piercing look, wondering if the girl meant her words as a barb, but Ruby was unperturbed. "I take my training seriously," she replied with a determined look in her eye. "You have to work hard to stay ahead of the pack."

"And you're ahead of the pack?" asked Venus with a small smirk.

A smile crept on to Ruby's face, one that rivaled India's ever-present smirk. "Who, me? Oh, no," she said playfully. "Now about this duel, what's in it for me?"

India and Venus exchanged an alarmed look at the self-deprecatory response. The lad leaned forward over the table, folding his arms. "That's a good question, Ruby, what can we do to spice it up for you?" He made an artful shrug. "I don't suppose a kiss from me would suit?"

Weiss laughed openly. "Oh what, tails, you win, heads, we lose? Try harder, India."

"That doesn't really interest me," said Ruby in a flat, hollow tone. This always irritated her.

"Aww, why not?" asked India playfully, even as he noted Ruby's clear displeasure.

Assumptions would clearly be the death of her. "You aren't really my type, India," Ruby explained calmly. "Don't get me wrong, you seem perfectly nice for a girl … or guy ... who's into that sort of thing." India made a silent 'oh' of understanding, unlike Venus who gave Ruby a perplexed look.

The Schnee heiress sighed quietly as she saw Ruby first look up at the Carlton girl, then back at herself. "Just ask them for what you want, Ruby," said Weiss encouragingly.

Ruby glanced between the others and then finally smiled a cheeky little grin. "Alright, then," she began, trying to sound confident. "I want a kiss from Venus as my prize."

Venus blinked uncertainly and giggled hesitantly. "Oh my god, Weiss, is she your girlfriend?" she asked after a moment.

"If she was, she certainly wouldn't be asking _you_ for a kiss, idiot," snapped Weiss.

"Then who is she to you?" asked the future stock broker.

"Long story, I'll tell you after you kiss her," promised Weiss with a devilish grin. "Wait, I mean, after the duel. Same thing."

"Grimm and Dust, you _are_ cocky," said India in amazement. "What aren't you telling us?"

Weiss snorted and waved him off. "You come here and interrupt my breakfast. I'm not going to do you any favours. Did you want to dance or not?" She saw the hesitation and laughed haughtily at his expense. "Nervous?"

"You wish, Schnee," shot back India. He shot a look at Venus who sighed back and nodded. "Alright, you're on." Ruby and Weiss exchanged a grin and stood. "No time like the present, is it? Well, that suits me just fine." He likewise stood to his feet, savouring the explosion of chatter and the shifting of chairs behind him as his peers watched on with great interest, their scrolls hard at work. He turned and walked towards the dance floor.

The two Beacon girls walked over together, with Weiss quickly running through the minor points where a society duel and an academy spar differed. When she finished, Weiss crossed her arms and regarded Ruby with an indulgent grin. "Should have known you'd cause trouble," she said good-naturedly. "A duel, just minutes after arriving."

"Hardly my fault," complained Ruby as they stopped on the edge of the wooden dance floor. "Why did he try to duel _me_ straight away?" she asked with a frown.

"It's me he wanted to duel, but I can tell him to go jump if he challenged me personally; I already have a reputation. He thought if he challenged you, I would have to champion you," explained Weiss, before she smiled nastily. "Of course, you aren't just eye candy. He has no idea what he's just let himself in for."

"Awfully complicated," said Ruby, before she shrugged. "Oh well, I do love a good sparring session."

"Just don't make me look stupid out there," demanded Weiss. "You're reflecting on me now."

"Of course," dismissed Ruby confidently. "Not a problem and oh god, he's got a fire sword, I love it!"

India had walked out into the centre of the dance floor and drawn out his weapon, taking a few practice swings. The longsword was heavily impregnated with fire dust, meaning it began to brew up fiercely, tongues of flame flickering and smouldering across its length. The metal itself was bright red, with the hand-and-a-half handle, cruciform hilt and various other components down the core of the weapon jet black. It was an imposing and intimidating weapon, but Ruby was only fascinated, not afraid.

"Ready whenever you are, Ruby," announced India gamely.

Weiss turned and smiled at her partner. "Go get 'em, dolt."

With a hand upon the activation stud of Crescent Rose's holding form, Ruby walked out to meet her opponent. She took up a position about ten paces distant, grinning like a fiend. She was eager and brimming with confidence, and it unnerved India to see. He glanced at Venus and Weiss on the edge of the dancefloor, the former with her scroll out to keep track of his aura, the latter not bothering.

"Not going to show us your weapon?" asked India in surprise. "Won't do you much good stuck in a carry case."

"Don't worry, you'll see sweetheart," promised Ruby with a wicked grin. "I'm ready."

"That a euphemism? Anyway, count us in, Venus!" called India.

Venus nodded and counted down from five, and on the call of one, the young man pounced, swinging from overhead with power and precision. But Crescent Rose was blossoming into a reverse grip, and Ruby used the tail-spike for a powerful defensive swat to turn aside the roaring brand. The great bladed head of the weapon locked into place and Ruby struck with a smile.

"Fu-!" was all India could manage as he failed to raise his weapon in time, for the scythe cut the air with blistering speed and it hammered him down into the floor before he rolled desperately away. "What the _fuck_!?" he swore as he came up to his feet, shaken and alarmed as he tried to dance around defensively.

A storm of chatter erupted from the audience as Ruby artfully struck a pose with Crescent Rose. The girl beamed as she proudly showed off her pride and joy, but India couldn't look away from her silver eyes. They were bright and fierce, full of joy and fury, and by turns fey and calculating. He knew instantly that Ruby was the sort of girl who was at her most majestic when the steel flew and bodies fell. India threw himself back into the fray with a desperate urgency.

Blazing metal crashed against steel for another series of exchanges, the power, weight and ineffable speed of the scythe keeping India guessing and scrambling to try and pick through the constantly shifting maze of metal that Ruby presented him with. Crescent Rose moved with a terrifying whistle and a gust of wind, and even rattled with the intensity of the speed with some blows. India's fires guttered between strikes, but exploded into life as he attacked, the flames whipping at Ruby even when the weapon was deflected.

On the sidelines, Venus was watching in wide-eyed shock as the scythe blurred and whistled over and again. "Uh, so what was Ruby to you, again?" she asked of Weiss, who was standing next to her.

"She's my team leader at Beacon Academy and one of the most lethal students in the year group," explained Weiss merrily. She felt she had the pair trapped, and no longer cared to hide it. "If you want some advice, might want to fix up that lipstick. Ruby will collect soon." Venus stared in horror.

Out in the middle India was starting to get some small handle on how to contest the exotic weapon. He began to wonder if Ruby might be tiring, as the big sweeping blows gave way to shorter and sharper chops and irritating tail-spike flicks. '_I might have a chance here after all!' _he thought to himself wildly. They faced off in the middle, the silver-eyed girl still smiling exultantly.

He drove in, feinting back and forth, until he finally opened up a vulnerability. The fiery weapon slashed in with the impregnated red dust blazing, one great tongue of flame. It caught the mysterious girl in the midriff. Fire bloomed and licked around Ruby Rose as the blow lifted her off the ground. A reversal of the blow, spinning back to chop down from overhead, batted the Beacon student away. But to India's enormous surprise, she recovered into a roll comfortably, seemingly unphased.

"Ha!" cried Ruby. "Not bad, India." She glanced towards Weiss. "I kinda wish Yang were here, she'd have the pun for the occasion."

"You're tougher than you look," admired India as he watched Ruby prepare to re-engage, seemingly unaffected by the impact.

"Ruby," called out Weiss in an amused tone, "You've had your fun, stop toying with him and finish the duel."

India's gaze snapped between either girl, and he gulped as he watched Ruby smile like a shark and chamber a round. '_Sweet fuck, a sniper scy-,' _he began to realise before instinct took over, for Ruby had just vanished in a cloud of rose petals. She reappeared in front of him, Crescent Rose swinging, but when he raised his weapon, she vanished again. Movement flickered to his right and there she was again. He tried to turn, but she was gone again. In a pair of heartbeats she had used her semblance to completely unhinge his defence.

When the blow fell, it struck him across the back and it was his turn to fly. The far wall came rushing up at him and he blacked out as he hit, cratering into the plastering.

Awed silence fell over the gala set in the room. Ruby Rose triumphantly turned and laid her weapon across the back of her shoulders, arms resting along the weapon's shaft. Weiss blinked as she watched the girl walk back in all of her glory, beautiful and terrible. The gifted girl looked at her and smiled and Weiss felt herself skip a beat, mouth hanging ajar. The heiress shook her head to clear it, and offered up a proud smile.

"You let us walk right into this," groaned Venus haplessly. "You're horrible! Ohh, I _hate_ kissing girls!"

"Does it happen often?" asked Weiss blinkingly.

Venus turned to give her a filthy look. "I have the worst luck at spin the bottle." The other girl just looked skyward and rolled her eyes.

"You really don't want to?" asked Ruby as she collapsed her weapon and carefully straightened out her dress. Before the eyes of the older girls she seemed to change as the creases smoothed out in her dress and the scythe returned to its frame, from Ruby the lioness to a normal looking girl. In her blue dress and suddenly shy smile, she could have been any society debutante. Disbelief coloured Weiss' features as she watched the girl shape up to Venus without any of the self-assurance, even confidence that approached arrogance, that she displayed with weapon in hand.

"No, I really don't," admitted Venus awkwardly. "It's just not me."

"We didn't force you to take on the wager. You agreed to it!" hissed Weiss angrily.

"Maybe if you hadn't hidden the fact you were backing the dollar-ten short-odds favourite I wouldn't be so sore about it," shot back Venus.

Ruby looked between the two older girls in dismay, but nodded morosely and waved Venus away. "Don't worry about it, then," she said quietly. "We're just supposed to be having fun, after all, and I enjoyed the fight enough anyway."

Venus flushed with embarrassment and looked away, unable to say anything as Ruby walked on by. She could feel a cloud of eyes burning at the back of her neck. At her side Weiss betrayed a moment of white hot fury before she clamped down on her expressions. The heiress turned and stiffly walked away from Miss Carlton without a word.

The drink orders had arrived at their table during the duel, and Weiss found Ruby sipping at her hot chocolate with a distant look in her eyes. The ivory-haired girl took her seat again and folded her arms on the table's edge. Being sensitive and supporting didn't come naturally to her, but she knew she had to try.

"That was quite the performance, Ruby," she complimented as she picked up her coffee. "I'd have been hard-pressed to match it. I bet you picked up a lot of admirers."

"Not Venus, clearly," answered Ruby without looking back.

"Talk to me Ruby," insisted Weiss.

"I know it's silly … and that I shouldn't be surprised," began Ruby. "Venus is straight, that was pretty clear, I don't know what I was thinking picking her," she said, berating herself. "Still, that rejection kinda hurt." The waiter returned and took orders for breakfast, and an omelette and pancakes arrived not long after, giving Ruby time to think over the matter.

"I don't think it was you that Venus was upset about," said Weiss slowly, furious that she had to offer her a defence. "I think she was upset at me for not telling her you were a future Huntress. India is really talented, so she probably thought she was on a safe thing."

"Cool, so she would never have agreed to risk kissing me if she thought there had been any chance it would actually happen," translated Ruby with an angry look.

"That wasn't what I meant!" protested Weiss. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, but couldn't think of anything to say to make things better. "What do you want to do today?" she asked eventually. "My security people think the rapscallions have gone quiet after last night."

"No more clothes today," said Ruby immediately. "I appreciate them, and it was nice looking the part here, but it's not _fun_ and I want to do something _fun_."

"Well, what would be fun?" asked Weiss.

Ruby finally gave her a smile, pushing her feelings of rejection aside. "I want to go add to my board game collection, and there's a weapons expo on in town I think we can get into as Beacon students."

"Then that's what we'll do," declared Weiss with a smile in return.

They focused on their food after that, both rather distant in their thoughts. The buzz of conversation around them never ceased, but they pushed it all out, and kept their peace. Weiss nodded with a certain savage glee that Venus, for her part, was catching a lot of taunting over baulking at following through on her wager.

After they finished breakfast, Ruby all but hauled Weiss out of the cafe and back up towards their room. She wanted to be away, back in her own element. Once the elevator doors closed, Ruby heaved a sigh, her face still pained. Weiss bit her lip and then turned to face the girl as the elevator began to quietly rise.

"Ruby, if I may," she began, pausing as Ruby gave her a bemused look. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?" asked Ruby with a grin.

Weiss just glared, then began again. "Even though Venus chickened out, you still beat India, so you deserve your prize. And as the other half of the wager, it only seems right if…"

Ruby's eyes went wide with near-panic and her mouth went instantly cotton-dry. "W-wait, are you…?"

"Oh don't react like that," snapped Weiss, putting her hands on her hips. Her expression softened and she managed a smile. "Just a peck on the cheek," she suggested. "It's not much, I know."

"That's very sweet of you, Weiss," said Ruby warmly, before teasing, "And not very ice queen-like at all!"

"Excuse me! Ice Princess, if you must," retorted the heiress. Ruby giggled at her. "And don't get any ideas! This isn't a pass, I'm still straight," she protested. "I just don't want you to get shortchanged like that, okay?"

"Tch, and here I was about to say that I did warn you not to fall for me," teased Ruby again.

"Oh would you shut your mouth and present before you ruin the moment, dunce?" sighed Weiss.

Ruby folded her hands behind her back and leaned forward, tilting her left cheek towards her partner. Weiss breathed in sharply and leaned in and pressed soft lips into Ruby's cheek in a dainty little peck. There was very little to it, but Ruby immediately burst into laughter, eyes sparkling as she looked at her friend.

"Better?" asked Weiss dryly, but with a kindly smile.

"Venus who," replied Ruby with an answering grin.

* * *

><p>"Okay, decision time, what are we going to watch?" asked Yang with her arms folded across her chest as she stared at a bank of movie posters outside the cinema.<p>

Blake hmm'd contemplatively and moved to one end of the array of posters. "Well, let's see," she muttered as she examined them all. The first was a kid's movie and she dismissed it out of hand. The next poster was for a disaster movie, and she shook her head, "Don't think so," she declared.

The next poster was for a gritty and ludicrously violent movie about gangs in Vacuo, starring a brunette woman with a long list of action credits and a deplorable penchant for one-liners and puns. Blake was considering it until she caught sight of the director's name. "Oh god, not him," she said with a grimace.

Yang blinked in surprise. "Eh? Who?"

"The director, he is completely bigoted against faunus," explained Blake. "See, not one faunus actor in the credits. He'll only use faunus as bit part villains or sex-objects. It's disgraceful."

"I … never noticed that about him," said Yang distantly as she ran through the director's movies in her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I never realised."

"Most people don't pay attention to these things, so you're in plenty of company," said Blake with a sigh. "It's not uncommon though."

"What? Faunus discrimination?" echoed Yang.

"Yeah, in the film industry. There's a lot of directors and actors that either mistreat faunus cast and crew, or refuse to work with them, or only give them degrading roles." She turned to glance at Yang, wondering if she was putting her identity at risk if she kept this up. "It's important to have equality in Remnant, and the film industry affects a lot of people, and sets trends."

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from," said Yang, nodding. "You know, I don't think I've ever met someone with such an interest in faunus rights. And that includes a lot of faunus people."

Blake gulped and made as if to carefully examine the next poster so she could stay composed. "I used to live out beyond the kingdoms, I saw firsthand the need. So I've told myself I could never turn my back on that oppression."

"Hey, what's with the defensiveness?" said Yang with a bombastic laugh. "It's a good thing. Honestly, it's something I admire about you."

"You do?" echoed Blake in surprise.

"Yeah," said Yang with a casual shrug. "When I first met you, I thought you didn't care about anything, and you just coasted on your cynicism. But you care," she said with an over the top smile. "You care all the way down to your boots."

Blake looked at her partner silently for several seconds. A small smile creased her lips, before she returned to the posters. "Let's see, sci-fi, no, not in the mood. No, not this one, that actor is a jackass." She stopped as she looked at one of the posters, and reached out to tap it. "This one. Heist movie, lots of drama, some action, a pretty balanced cast…"

"And the lead couple," said Yang breathily. "I mean damn. If I could get dropped on their bed I would be the happiest clam in the ocean, they are drool-worthy."

Blake glanced at the male and female leads, a blonde haired, blue eyed human man and a vivacious fox faunus woman; one of very few films she knew of to have a mixed romantic couple. She grinned wryly at her partner. "Well, that was a revelation."

Yang just winked at her. "So, heist movie it is!" She brought up her scroll and poked around for a moment. "Says there's a ten o'clock showing, so we kill an hour, come back to watch it, then go grab lunch and find my sister and our trouble-magnet teammate."

"You can't possibly think Ruby is less of a trouble magnet than Weiss," said Blake in surprise as they walked away from the front of the cinema.

"Of course I can," snorted Yang. "Now that I know the White Fang would love to take a swing at Weiss, anyway." She frowned and glanced at her partner. "Why _do _they want to snuff the Schnee?"

"Because her father's company's controversial labour practices by and large have faunus on the receiving end," explained Blake. "The Dust mines employ a lot of faunus labour, since they know there are a lot of faunus who are desperate for work in those regions. So they try and hijack a lot of the dust shipments that the SDC makes. They'd also love the propaganda coup of assassinating a Schnee."

"I am a bit worried knowing my little Rubes might be in the firing line of that," confessed Yang.

"Don't let it worry you, Yang, they're both really talented, and Weiss has spent her life security conscious," reassured Blake with a hand on Yang's arm.

Yang turned to look at Blake, lips pressed thinly together. "So those people we fought last night, those were White Fang agents."

"The ones you punched out were just grunts," said Blake. "Find me some tea and I'll explain."

* * *

><p>Alice exhaled as she finally relaxed, leaning on Cheshire Silver and looking over at her equally tired opponents. "So," she said as she gulped in air. "I ran into Ruby Rose at the airship terminal yesterday."<p>

The other two girls exchanged a look, before Velvet said, "Really? Did you introduce yourself?"

"Of course, it was the polite thing to do," claimed Alice, as if a chance to play with the mind of Weiss' partner had nothing to do with it.

"What did you think?" asked Miltiades, crossing her arms as she regarded the girl in blue.

"Precocious thing, isn't she?" noted Alice distantly. "So much sugar and spice, and all things nice. But there's something else, isn't there? Her weapon was absolutely mesmerising though. For someone with an interest in the instruments of battle, I have to admit, I was an ardent admirer of her craft."

"I am looking forward to seeing that scythe in action," confessed Velvet. "Even after that...," she glanced at Miltiades. "That incident. I haven't seen for myself, but I'm told she's a one-girl storm of steel."

"Yes, if you get footage of her, do show me! I'm fascinated by that weapon, it'd mean Vale to a brick to me to see how it actually performs," said Alice enthusiastically.

Miltiades, the only one who had seen Crescent Rose in battle, shuddered. "It's so fast the head blurs. It hits so hard you feel the impact not just in your hands, but down your whole body, like catching a sledgehammer. Just when you think you know where it is and where it's going, it's on a totally different path, as if inertia wasn't even a thing." Her voice went quieter and quieter as she talked, and her eyes became unfocused and distant. "And your aura feels like a joke as it cuts through."

Silence filled their practice yard as Alice and Velvet stared at the young woman.

"Miltia...," called Velvet softly. "She really did a number on you, didn't she? Look, you're a strong fighter, you got unlucky and she took advantage. Don't be scared of her."

"I'm not scared of her, I'm scared of that scythe!" protested Miltiades.

"It is a terrifying weapon, I can't imagine what it was like to see that blade at the last moment," confessed Alice sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, my dear, I really didn't think; I was swept away."

"It's fine," said Miltia tritely, which none of them believed. "We had a meeting, everyone promised no more fighting, so there's nothing for me to worry about."

"Of course not," agreed Velvet, happy to seize on the positive note. "Alright, Alice, give me another round trying to hold you out. I need to get some more practice going. Give me pointers if you see anything, Miltia."

The pair went through another series of exercises. Alice slung her weapon around with merry abandon, forcing Velvet to dig deep to move Wishbearer into the right guards. On the attack, Alice was lively and creative, mixing up her angles of attack with a keen and wicked skill. Each blow of the crystal blue heavy blade on the stave rang out with a deep brassy clamour. It fatigued the faunus girl as her arms worked like shock absorbers behind the weapon, which would have broken if not for the aura that all huntresses infused their weapons with. It was a necessity, or else weapons like Miltia's, or even Lie Ren's would have no hope of surviving a blow from the likes of Magnihild or Crescent Rose, or Cardin's mace.

"Enough, enough, I'm spent!" said Velvet after several minutes as she held her weapon horizontally above her head, the accepted gesture for parley.

"Very good work, Miss Scarletina," said Alice genteelly, though she herself was breathing heavily from the exertion. "By the way, I was wondering if you guys could tell me something about that meeting you had with your class teams."

"Fire away," said Miltiades as she stretched.

"Ruby told me Melanie did something provocative at the meeting," recalled Alice as she appreciatively watched the girl stretch. "She wanted Weiss to promise to stay away from the society special?"

"Well, that wasn't exactly how it happened," said Velvet hesitantly. "She said she _should_ ask for Weiss to promise that. She didn't actually go through with it. By the way, one of you two really needs to tell me what that is. No one but the two of them seemed to know."

"Ah, well Pyrrha knows what it is, but they call it something different in Mistral. But don't worry about the special, it's just something involving champagne and silliness that I'd rather not get into," dismissed Alice disingenuously. "It's interesting though. Just mentioning it would have embarrassed Weiss, which I guess is what Melanie wanted to do. But what did Weiss do to make Melanie angry enough to try and embarrass her, I wonder?"

"Didn't Ruby say?" asked Miltiades in surprise.

"No, Ruby didn't know," replied Alice. "So I figured I would ask you guys."

Both girls turned to frown at Alice. "She said she didn't know? Ruby was there the same as us. Is that honestly what she told you?" asked Velvet.

"Yes," said Alice hesitantly.

Miltiades snorted and ran a hand through her hair. "That girl," she said with a silly grin, "Is such a good liar."

Velvet shook her head and explained, "Melanie blew up at the meeting when Weiss demanded that Miltia promise to keep her distance."

Alice's expression went blank as she digested that. After several long heartbeats, the blonde heiress narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I don't suppose the conversation went in a way that Ruby could have misunderstood what everyone meant? She did seem … a little naive."

"Don't fall for that," warned Miltiades. "Ruby isn't naive at all. She knew why Weiss wanted me to stay away, and she knew that Mel was trying to get under Weiss' skin to stand up for me. Ruby just didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of telling you that."

The swordswoman blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "She was completely credible, I didn't even suspect that she was lying to me."

"Don't worry, we know," drawled Velvet as she rolled her eyes. "She dropped a whopper of a lie in the middle of the meeting."

"But why would she lie about Weiss trying to stop Miltiades going for revenge?" asked Alice in confusion. "Is it because Ruby thought I'd react badly to that?" She looked at her intimate friend and frowned. "I mean, you're not a violent person, you don't go in for revenge like that. We all know that."

"Well," began Velvet uncomfortably. "You see, Weiss didn't ask Miltia to stay away from all of them. She, uh, only wanted her to stay away from Ruby."

"Because Ruby was the one who shot you?" asked Alice with a frown, trying to figure out what the other two girls were awkwardly dancing around.

"No. It's because she thinks I'll go after Ruby the only that way Weiss thinks her friend is vulnerable," explained Miltiades with a wry grin. "Emotionally."

"That's how Miltia's orientation came out," explained Velvet to Alice, a blush searing her cheeks. "Melanie was frustrated and angry since she didn't know where Weiss was coming from. So Miltia explained that Weiss wasn't worried about physical danger." Alice closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples. The potential for an angry explosion from the girl strained Velvet's nerves. "Melanie's response was to scoff and ask Weiss if she had seen you."

Alice's eyes flashed angrily. "Seen me? Of course she's seen me! I was the one who told Weiss about us in the first place!"

"You!?" blurted both the other girls.

"I'm a society girl, Millie, we gossip, it's what we do," said Alice gently, trying to suppress her frustration. "This was a month ago, how could I have honestly known that a month later you would end up confronting each other across a mediation table?" Her angry expression cracked and she looked down, scuffing the ground with one of her boots. "Honestly, I'm sorry it happened like that, Miltia. I was just … happy, that's all. I wanted to tell someone, and I didn't think Weiss was a danger. In hindsight, I guess I should have realised Weiss is always dangerous."

Miltia took a moment before replying, but eventually gave Alice a small smile and said, "It's okay, I understand."

Alice nodded with a relieved expression. "I'm still confused though," she admitted. "Whyever did she think you might want to seduce Ruby?" asked Alice. "Unless she's just being paranoid."

Velvet looked at her partner and extended a hand, inviting her to explain. The girl in red glared back hotly, refusing to accept. The faunus girl snorted and shrugged. "Fine. My belief is that Ruby swings the same way you two do. Both Weiss and you knew it," she said with a glance at her partner.

The society girl folded her arms and glanced at her not-quite girlfriend. "Care to confirm that?"

"I'm not going to-," she began to say.

"By Grimm and Dust, Miltiades Malachite!" blew up Alice. "Should you feed me any more ambiguity I won't be held responsible for what follows!"

"Yes, fine, for god's sake, Alice," complained Miltia. "Yes, it's true, the girl likes girls. Are you happy!?" she asked angrily of Velvet who held up her hands defensively.

"Oh, leave off," deflected the faunus. "But why does Weiss think that you and Ruby in a relationship is a possibility, or dangerous if it happened?" asked Velvet in confusion.

"Because," said Alice in cold, precise tones as she glared at the girl she was sleeping with, "Our dear friend Miss Schnee is a society girl through and through, as I am, and seduction with cruel intentions would be exactly what she would expect from one of our peers. And you, my sweet, ran in criminal circles that were none too different, and your sister _did_ run in our circles."

"Oh you can't be serious," gasped Miltiades quickly, eyes wide with surprise at how openly Alice was considering the possibility. "I know she tried to kill me, but we have an understanding now. We're fine, alright, and I've never been big on revenge. I don't like the girl, I'll admit." She blushed and shifted awkwardly, admitting, "Okay, not liking someone hasn't always stopped me hooking up with a pretty girl in the past. But I've never tried to emotionally toy with someone like that, and I don't mean to start."

The other girl closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I know, that was silly of me to consider," admitted the girl in blue. "But, to have Ruby lie to my face, that I don't appreciate in the least. I can't just let that slide." After a moment she straightened, her eyes nursing an infernal spark as she smiled. "Oh, I know what I can do to her. And I don't even have to lie."

Her scroll appeared out of a pocket and with a few button presses she was waiting with a rhythmic ringtone buzzing in the still air. Velvet and Miltia both recoiled as Alice's expression did a complete reversal when the line picked up at the other end.

"Oh, Weiss, good morning, how _are_ you, dear?" greeted Alice joyously. "Oh, that sounds lovely. Is your little friend around?" she asked, twirling a finger idly in her hair.

Miltiades and Velvet exchanged a deeply alarmed look as they watched on, clueless as to what Alice was up to.

"Oh, lovely, a moment of privacy then," said Alice after waiting a moment for a reply. "Weiss, you're unbelievable, you know? You didn't tell me your pretty little friend was a society girl!"

Both onlookers reared back in surprise as they watched their friend weave a mean-spirited little web for Weiss and Ruby. Miltiades folded her arms and gave Alice an unhappy look, but the girl in blue just waved her away.

"What do you mean she's not?" continued Alice, feigning confusion. "She must be ... unless ... my, oh my, have you been stashing that pretty little thing on the side until now? Oh, you're terrible, Weiss!" she said with a carefully scandalised giggle. "Eh? What am I talking about? Weiss, you saw me give Crescent Rose a look-over. If you have a better explanation for how that girl has a weapon I'd put on retail for eight hundred thousand Lien, then I'd certainly love to hear it."

The mention of the princely sum shocked both Miltia and Velvet out of their discomfort, and they both leaned in to listen harder. Both were familiar enough with Alice to know that, like most society girls, she very seldom lied outright, knowing that a twisted truth was ten-fold stronger than any lie. It was part of why the girl was so angry about being deceived, since it happened so seldom.

"I mean, you could buy a car that even you wouldn't mind being seen in with that much Lien." A cold light burned in Alice's eyes to match the dreadful smile that spread across her lips as she listened to the reply. "Of course I'm sure, Weiss. I am the scion of Sgathan House, I'll have you remember, I have an eye for these things. This is retail price, of course, but the materials would be at least half of that sum, I'm sure." She waited again. "Goodness, that's very strange. Well, sorry to bother you on this lovely Saturday, Miss Schnee; it was lovely to meet your friend though, she's so mysterious, and so very pretty. I'm sure she'll break hearts. Yes, see you soon, good bye, Weiss."

Alice pressed a button on her phone to cut the call with a deeply satisfied stab of her thumb and slipped the scroll back into her pockets. "What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when Ruby gets back to her," said the student with a giggle. "So you'll lie to my face, Ruby, you silly little lamb. Well, I have teeth and I have claws, and that's a very dangerous game you play," she said aloud to no one in particular.

* * *

><p>"Airships are best-ships," declared Nora around mid-morning as she walked the streets of Vale with her friend. "I love 'em, like floating on clouds." She jogged Ren with an elbow. "Don't you agree?"<p>

"Yes, Nora," answered Ren as he looked around the city streets. "So does anyone know where we're going?"

"Yes, of course," said Pyrrha. "None of us are Vale natives, sure, but my scroll has a map."

"I mean, do we have a store in mind," clarified Ren.

"Ah! Well, it just so happens," began Pyrrha, "That we know an expert."

"You sent Ruby a message?" guessed Ren.

"I most certainly did, and got a recommendation," said Pyrrha with a glowing smile. "Bounty Toys and Games, five stories of fantastic fun and excitement. We'll go, load up on the good stuff, then head back and get a head start on teaching Jaune helpful things."

"Like how not to get wiped out before you even know you're in trouble," added Ren dryly. "Too bad this isn't available in comic book form for you."

"Oh, ha ha," complained Jaune. "I am not addicted to comic books."

"Not unless you're supposed to be studying, anyway," said Pyrrha in a deceptively honeyed voice

"It's not my fault, RageHunt is awesome, it calls to me when I'm studying," protested Jaune earnestly, hands raised placatingly.

"You just like the pretty, red-head huntress main character," teased Nora.

"Oh, look, there's the store, right where Ruby said it would be," exclaimed Pyrrha suddenly. "Let's go!"

As the quartet passed a small bistro next to the toy store, Ren spotted a distinctive ivory-haired girl sitting out front. "Weiss," he called out, getting a cool expression from the girl until she recognised him, at which point she waved slightly.

"Oh, hi there," she said mellowly, sipping on a soda.

"How're you?" asked Ren as the quartet stopped by her table.

"Fine," she said flatly, and though she clearly wasn't feeling fine, Ren respected the sentiment. "Been busy, that's all."

"Is Ruby still with you?" asked Pyrrha.

"No, she's up in the toy store still, third story. But she was taking too long, and I needed something to drink." She grimaced. "Even I can't take my drink inside, it seems."

"Oh, that's a pain," sympathised Pyrrha. "Well, we're off to go hunt some strategy games up, come see us if you get back in there."

"Yeah, sure, will do," promised Weiss with a good impression of earnestness. The team moved on towards the toy store. Pyrrha hung back for a moment, looking at Weiss, who was immediately back lost in her thoughts again. She considered asking Weiss a few of the questions that had been bugging her since their meeting. But before she got the chance, Weiss' scroll started buzzing and she took the call, all but snarling at the intrusion, so Pyrrha moved on.

The toy store was a bonanza of every type of entertainment: conventional toys, unconventional toys, electronic entertainment, racing cars, Grimm plushes, action figures of famous tournament fighters, building block kits, and, on the third floor, board games by the bushel. Party board games, solitaire board games, fancy ones like Hungry Hungry Beowolves, plus many battle-themed ones. Kingdoms, a global conquest game of trap cards and war; Grimmhammer, a tabletop game with packs of Grimm, squads of androids and soldiers, as well as many a heroic Huntress; Atlas & Allies, a grand strategy game; and literally dozens more along a wall. And in one corner was hex-grid based games stacked up taller than Pyrrha for the true grognards.

"Why have we not been here before?" asked Pyrrha, eyes bright and excitement written across her face.

"Because we don't know Vale very well," pointed out Nora.

A youthful voice surprised them all, "Well, that's why you have me!"

"Ahh, Ruby!" exclaimed Pyrrha as she jumped and turned, finding the cheerful student walking over.

"Is Weiss still down there?" asked the younger girl.

"Yeah, at the bistro next door," replied Pyrrha.

Ruby gave them a bright smile and nodded. "Alright. So, what are you guys looking for?"

"Games to help me get better with tactics and strategy," volunteered Jaune.

"Ah, okay, wargames," identified Ruby cheerily. "Need some advice? I've played 'em all … almost."

"I think that'd help," suggested Pyrrha, looking at her teammates.

"What's your budget?" asked Ruby.

The four team members froze and exchanged glances. Ren coughed into his hand. "Do you mind giving us a moment, Ruby, I think we need to sort something out," he asked.

Ruby laughed and nodded, beginning to walk off. Before she got far, her scroll began to buzz angrily at her, and she pulled it up to her ear to talk. At first Pyrrha didn't pay much attention, but then she noticed the girl's anxious look as she rushed to a window that overlooked the alley below.

"You're sure?" she heard the girl say into the scroll. "Look, okay, okay, I understand. The alley on the far side of the toy store, I see a little park in the middle for the tenants next door. Head down there, we'll sort this out." She paused to listen again. "Of course, I'm sure! This _isn't_ their ground, it's _our_ ground. In fact, it's _my_ ground."

With that, Ruby disappeared out through the window onto the fire escape and made her way upward, even as Jaune and his team looked on in shock. But they shrugged and went about trying to decide on a budget. Thirty seconds later, however, they were interrupted again. A young man with hair akin to Quicksilver walked by them, also talking on a scroll, and looking around frantically.

"Shit, Em, I lost her," he said despairingly. "What? The Schnee's friend, I lost sight of her. She's not on this floor anymore." He turned and saw Jaune's team staring at him. "Hey, you guys see a girl, black dress, dark hair, red cape?"

"Yeah, I think she said she was going down to electronic games on level two," lied Pyrrha quickly.

"Right, thanks, you're a peach," said the boy.

Pyrrha waved and smiled as the boy ran off, but the moment he disappeared a disgusted look crossed her face. "What was _that_ about?" she said irritably.

"Don't … really know," said Ren hesitantly. "Ever see him before? He was after Ruby, but he didn't seem to know her name."

"Want to go chase him down and get some answers?" asked Nora. "I don't-"

The building shook beneath them and a massive thunderclap blasted out from the alleyway along with a flash of light. Before the building had stopped shaking, more big booming blasts sounded, followed by a rip of staccato pops and and the ringing of clashing steel. A scream filled the air, desperate and mortal. Wounded shrieks filled the air along with curses, explosions and great rending noises of tortured steel, all the noise of a battle in full swing.

And all four students recognised the distinctive sounds of Crescent Rose's rifle and Myrtenaster's dust techniques.

* * *

><p>"So in the White Fang," began Blake as they sat down in a secluded corner of a trendy cafe. The girl smiled with satisfaction as she picked up the infuser her tea had been brought out in and poured a cup. "You have the loosely affiliated types. Protesters, youth members, agitators, the sort of people that man picket lines and graffiti buildings. Things like that."<p>

"Okay," said Yang, settled into the cushioned seat.

"These people do a lot of really good work, you need to realise," added Blake, trying to tamp her passion. "Rallies and demonstrations work a lot of the time, and get some good publicity."

"But that's not all there is to our fangy friends, is it?" asked Yang pointedly.

"Well, no," admitted the secret faunus girl. "They've always had a … militant wing. Even back in the original, peaceful days. People to fight the strike breakers, corrupt cops, corporate goons. If the White Fang didn't have them, the faunus rights movement would have been crushed very early on."

"That makes sense to me," allowed Yang as she fiddled with Ember Celica.

"By and large, they've been a small defensive army," said Blake. "They have a uniform, that off-white sleeveless jacket with red marks, and masks. Of course, they don't always wear the mask or uniform, like you saw last night, but they wear it when they can."

Yang snorted. "They haven't been that defensive for as long as I can remember."

"That's true, and its a change that has come about in the last decade, rather slowly," explained Blake. "Now the grunts are used everywhere as ordinary muscle and numbers."

"Mooks," said Yang with a smile.

Blake eyed the girl darkly and sipped from her tea. "Sure," she said in an annoyed tone. "Mooks. What aren't mooks, however, are the agents." Yang rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward, getting to the part she was interested in. "Field agents are individuals with strong auras, specialised training and complex weapons. The people the White Fang trust to carry out difficult or clandestine ops. Their answer to Huntresses, you see. Often deploy as field or ops teams."

"Was that the bunny girl?" asked Yang.

"No, the bunny girl was…," began Blake before she looked away and sighed, looking miserable. "It's a recent development, more recent than the field agents, only the last few years as the White Fang turned truly violent. Trigger teams and trigger agents are what they're called. White Fang kill teams. The bunny girl was a White Fang assassin."

* * *

><p>Weiss carefully placed her scroll upon the table next to her drink and stared at it in confusion. Alice's call had left her with dreadful questions; that she knew it had been entirely designed to raise those questions didn't change anything. Someone with a talent for weapon appraisal had finally put a price tag on Crescent Rose for her, and it was far higher than she had expected.<p>

'_What did you _do_, Ruby?_' she thought to herself. Accumulating that much money in a way that wouldn't leave the Vale City Police with a nasty grudge was almost purely the domain of white collar crime. Whatever else the trainee huntress was, a white collar embezzler she wasn't.

'_You can't even earn that much money in the flesh trade_,' thought Weiss, ruling even that out. She had told Ruby she wouldn't ask, but it was starting to drive her up the wall. How could she not be in trouble? Was it an inheritance? But if so, why would Ruby not want to come clean about it? What a maddening girl her partner was, she lamented.

She sighed with pent-up frustration and took up her nearly empty glass. As she looked over the street scene laid out before her, her gaze alighted upon a very relaxed looking faunus woman. A five-foot-six rabbit-faunus, with dyed purple hair and a slim build. And, if she was not mistaken, a chain scythe on her back. A clear match for the woman Blake described last night.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," she hissed in disgust as she looked around for other faunus. Sure enough, just like the previous night, a set of faunus, all looking very casual, were slowly edging their way in her direction, loosely encircling her.

She picked up her scroll again, doing her best to remain outwardly calm, even as cold terror gripped her inside. She dialed a number, hissing at her hand to stop trembling. They were close, it might be too late to make a run from it. And she had separated herself from her backup already. What had she been thinking? Her security had thought the Fang had gone to ground again, but clearly someone had screwed up. Weiss shivered as she wondered if their gaffe had just cost her her life.

"Ruby, they're back," she said softly into the phone.

"_You're sure?_" came the reply.

"Dammit, you dunce, of course I'm sure, it's the exact woman Blake described. We need a plan, quick."

"_Look, okay, okay, I understand_," reassured Ruby. "_The alley on the far side of the toy store, I see a little park in the middle for the tenants next door. Head down there, we'll sort this out."_

Weiss' blue eyes went wide with shock. "What? You want to try to stand and fight them? Didn't you hear me before about not fighting on ground of their choosing?!" she hissed down the line, deeply frustrated.

Ruby was full of fire and brimstone as she snapped back down the line, "_Of course I'm sure! This _isn't_ their ground, it's _our_ ground. In fact, it's _my _ground._" Her words were sharp, fiery, and backed with an inner steel that Weiss had never even suspected of her leader.

When she heard Ruby's reply, her eyes lit up and she felt the trembles ease and her resolve stiffen. "Alright, I'm heading there now. Don't you let me down, Ruby Rose, I'm nothing but a pretty corpse if you don't back me up."

"_Don't you worry about me, Weiss, I've got your back_." There was a pause, and Weiss could all but hear the wry, confident smile that must be on the other girl's face. "_Just watch and be amazed; you're going to see everything I can do. I'm heading to the roof. Just head out into the playground in the alleyway, draw the White Fang out. When they're in the open, I'm going to pounce."_

She nodded as she stood and began to walk. "Sure. Okay, I'm heading down the alley. Move quickly."

She swallowed nervously. Battle was old hat now, but the familiar fear never faded. In truth to be anything but terrified would be madness. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the White Fang assassins moving, seemingly so casual, but to a trained observer, they were hemming her in, ready to assassinate her right there on the street. The itch between her shoulder blades was terrible. At any moment, the hammer might fall. But courage was not about being without fear, it was about still functioning even when bed-wettingly scared. Weiss moved without hesitation, courageous and self-composed, walking quickly past the store entrance.

"I'm putting in my ear bud and switching to radio comms," she said. "Don't you leave me high and dry, Ruby, don't you leave me. I'm dead if you do."

"_I would never do that, Weiss! Just focus._"

A strained smile creased Weiss' lips at the indignant reply. "Of course, Ruby. Switching over."

* * *

><p>Ruby used her semblance to quickly soar to the top of the building, landing casually on the lip of the roof. Quick as a mouse she ducked behind an air conditioning unit and scanned around. On the building opposite she saw a faunus man with a wicked looking rifle crouched overlooking the playground. He was preparing his weapon, loading in dust cartridges and crystals, adjusting his sights and ensuring he was ready to go.<p>

The playground was a little six by twelve meter rectangular area, with fake grass, a swing, see-saw and some benches. It was on the opposite side to the toy store building, a cut-out in the boundary of the adjacent apartment block. Combined with the four-meter wide alley, Ruby knew there would be plenty of space for sweetheart and herself.

"Weiss, there's a sniper above the playground, walk slow, I'll have him sorted out in a tick," whispered Ruby into the scroll she had placed on her lapel.

The faunus sniper was not paying nearly enough attention to his surroundings, the trainee huntress noted grimly. So she moved quickly, rushing along behind obstructions on the roof until she was past the man's peripheral vision. Hoping that no-one was looking up, she vaulted across the gap to land quietly on the opposite building. With a quick glance she spotted the sniper, still kneeling at the edge of the building, preparing his weapon and oblivious to his safety.

Petals streamed behind the young girl as she charged silently. By the time the sniper realised there might be a problem, Ruby already had her pivot foot planted and Crescent Rose was milliseconds away from his torso. It was a one-hit knockout, his body jackknifing hard around the impact site. Blood burst out in an arc, staining the student's steel. Ruby pressed her lips thinly and recovered her stance as the sniper slid to a halt against the far edge of the roof. The White Fang agent's aura had been shattered by the blow, along with half his rib cage, a dangerous wound.

The blood on Crescent Rose caught Ruby's attention. It looked grisly and drove home for her how serious this was. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes, focusing. Everything else was pushed aside. Any uncertainty, any doubt, any restraint and both herself and Weiss would surely die, and she meant far too much to Ruby to allow that. To protect her friend, she had to be completely committed to this deadly path.

"No hesitation," she whispered to herself. "Hold nothing back, more than ever before, hold nothing back. You'll never forgive yourself if you let her get hurt. Remember what uncle taught you. Be pitiless; if god should come down that alley, then cut down god."

She cleared her throat and spoke up, "Sniper is down, Weiss. Just me up here now. Draw them in."

"Good work," complimented Weiss with relief clear in her voice, lifting Ruby's spirits. "I'm nearly in position."

"Okay," replied Ruby as she glanced over the edge and spotted her friend walking casually down the middle of the alley, not looking behind her. "I can see you now." How was Weiss possibly that calm, she wondered in amazement. If Weiss had the slightest care in the world, it didn't come across in her body language. The fact that, inside, Weiss was a tumultuous mess would have shocked Ruby.

"Ruby, I want you to know, no matter what you do here, I won't judge you," reassured Weiss, as she resisted the urge to look up while she walked down the center of the alley. Her left hand rested steadily on Myrtenaster's hilt, ready to draw. "You've cleared out the sniper, so you've given me a chance already. If … if you want to head to safety, I'd understand. This is a war, and if you stay, you'll have to kill. That's a terrible burden to bear."

"Weiss."

"Yes?"

"Shut up," said Ruby flatly. Weiss rolled her eyes and tried to focus again. But Ruby had more to say. "Don't worry … I know I can do this. Miltia knows, it's part of what she has over me." In her thoughts she said, '_You don't even know it, but for you, I'd slay anyone but Yang._'

Weiss nearly stumbled as she heard her partner through her radio link. "I see," she breathed in surprise.

"They've entered the alley behind you," said Ruby. "The two in front are agents, I think. There's a few people that look like grunts with basic weapons behind them." From up above she watched the faunus militants strut arrogantly down the alley. It felt horribly strange to see them standing there. Living, breathing people that in a moment she would be doing her best to kill. Other than one of them looking too old, they could have been Beacon team on an assignment. But their mission was no coursework. Decades of human-faunus turmoil meant there was no peaceful way out. After two encounters in two days, Ruby knew that they had to make a statement; they would not be anyone's prey.

"Okay," said Weiss. "There's also an agent and a grunt ahead of me. This is it." There was a pause as Weiss swallowed anxiously. "Time to find out whose ground this really is."

"Good Miss Schnee!" hailed the male cat faunus walking down the alley in front of Weiss. "A word with you, if you will!"

Weiss drew her weapon. "You're very well-spoken for an animal," she called back. "You'll find me glad to spare you a moment of my time. Myrtenaster will need no more than that."

"Weiss Schnee, you have martyred many good sons and daughters of the cause," accused the man. "And others besides. You're a villain, a murderess, a corruption in training, stained with so much blood and suffering. But your foul clan will lose another vile scion today."

"Worthless lies from a worthless, terrorist mutt, whose wretched colleagues have slaughtered innocent humans across Remnant. I will put you down as a public service to Vale," shot back Weiss.

The words all washed over Ruby without sinking in. She didn't care, she was well past the point of caring. Words meant nothing, only action, aura, dust and blood mattered anymore. The faunus had stopped, blocking the alley on both sides around Weiss. The pair in front of her stood side-by-side, the agent on Weiss' right. The five behind her stood in an 'M' formation, the agents in front and grunts behind.

Ruby spoke into her scroll and stepped out onto the ledge, raising Crescent Rose's head above her shoulder. "I'm about to strike, there's a grunt behind your left shoulder, three meters; attack him first. Throw down a gravity glyph at your feet. The moment it's down, I strike."

Weiss didn't even hesitate as she listened to her team leader, a great blue glyph appearing immediately.

Ruby inhaled and stepped out over the ledge with her left, open air spreading out behind her. She prepared to push off with her right. Her mind was utterly blank as she fell, all conscious thought immolated by battle instincts. Everything focused on the agent over Weiss' left shoulder, a tall man whose animal type Ruby couldn't guess at.

Red light flared, her semblance burst into full radiance, while every muscle in her body fired as one and her rifle blasted out cross rounds. Weiss' gravity glyph did the rest. She plummeted the five-story distance like a meteor flinging itself into the ground, swinging Crescent Rose as she went. So powerful was her blow that the agent's aura crumpled instantly under it. The scythe's blade caught him atop the shoulder and clove straight down, splitting him like an axe through cordwood.

Less than a heartbeat after stepping off the roof Ruby hit the ground so hard the kinetic force cratered the alley floor. A thunderclap of displaced air burst across the alley. To stop herself from pancaking she snap-rolled forward, transferring her momentum. Everyone else staggered under the shockwave. Her scythe swept out as she rolled, catching the rabbit agent across her chest and brutally driving her into the wall. Ruby rolled past Weiss and attacked from overhead as she returned to her feet. The inertia of her descent aided her as she bore down on the agent. Bright gold aura flared and then broke under her might. A moment later the frightening head of the weapon crashed hard into the pavement, leaving the agent to fall to the ground in rough halves.

Pandemonium gripped the alley.

The air was misted with blood and pulverised pavement. Weiss tuned out the carnage, her instinct and training kicking in despite the terror and confusion. Myrtenaster slashed her stunned target, swiftly breaking the grunt's aura. He collapsed bonelessly. She moved among the other two like a dancer. Her rapier flowed back and forth, the dust and steel making a mockery of any attempt at defence. Only the trigger agents could take Weiss one-on-one, but Ruby's ambush had turned the battle on its head.

Weiss looked back as the two grunts fell in a mangled heap, just in time to see Ruby stagger the last grunt with an upward flick of the tail-spike before hacking him to the ground with the downward strike from the blade. Even from a standing start, the force was so great that it bounced the luckless grunt off the pavement.

Ruby straightened, and for a moment Weiss' heart ached to see her young friend soaked in faunus blood. '_This is my fault, Ruby, you shouldn't have had to face this,_' she lamented, before focusing again. There was still one threat left, the rabbit assassin, who was staggering to her feet.

The Schnee heiress seized one of the girl's ears and pulled her closer, and then drove Myrtenaster hard into her chest. The faunus convulsed and choked, spitting blood as she was run through a few inches below the heart. The white dust that would turn it from a disabling wound into instant death was chambered and ready, but Weiss refrained. She shook her head and instead kicked the White Fang agent off her blade.

"That's everything, let's go!" she shouted at Ruby, who looked back in confusion. "You heard me! Never stick around after a clash! Run! Go, dammit!" she urged, leading the way out.

* * *

><p>Around the corner at the toy store entrance, Jaune led his team out onto the street in a rush. They ran for the entrance to the alleyway, ready and prepared to join battle to defend their friends and classmates if they were in danger. But as they came close, two minivans came screeching to a halt on the road alongside them, and they all backpedalled into a defensive formation. The side doors on each vehicle opened, and a dozen uniformed and masked White Fang members piled out. Four of them secured the entrance, while others rushed into the alleyway.<p>

"We're outnumbered," gasped Jaune quietly, looking at the cloud of faunus militants.

"They're not strong," reassured Pyrrha. "We can take them, get ready…"

The passenger doors of one of the minivans opened up, and an elegant girl in a striking contrast of colours, pink, white and brown, stepped out. She radiated refinement and her smile held secrets and promises. The girl held an umbrella in her right, which she nonchalantly rested upon her shoulder, her left hand held daintily behind her back.

"But she might be a problem," muttered Pyrrha, taking a step back and clutching her weapons tight.

"Hello there," greeted the girl in a bright and cultured voice. "Did you have friends down there?"

"You're a human," said Pyrrha in a hard voice. "What are you doing with the White Fang?"

"You don't really expect me to answer that, do you?" replied the girl with a curious look. "I would suggest, if you don't have a reason to be here, you should leave now." She glanced over her shoulder as the White Fang grunts who had gone into the alley began to return with the first set of survivors and broken bodies from the fight within, including the rabbit faunus, whose chest was covered in blood, but was nonetheless still choking and breathing, clinging to life like a rat to drift wood. The girl looked back at them and shrugged with a pleasant look on her face. "After all, this act is done."

"Pyrrha," hissed Nora. "No need to stay," she whispered. Pyrrha turned towards her and her eyes widened as she saw the scroll hidden in Nora's hand. She mouthed, 'Safe?' at her comrade, who smiled and nodded.

The former tournament champion turned back to face the White Fang's human ally. "What's your name?" she demanded.

"That will remain a mystery for now," said the girl easily with a graceful bow. "Farewell … Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha took an involuntary step back as the strange girl spoke her name. "Okay, that's enough for me, let's get out of here," she muttered to her teammates. With that the four students backpedalled quickly and then turned and left.

As they left, Roman Torchwick exited the other minivan and walked to the entrance of the alley. The crime lord smiled at Neopolitan, flipping his cane over his shoulder imperiously. After a moment examining the carnage, he glanced up. "Whenever you're ready," he said aloud, and a green-haired girl and a gray-haired boy dropped from the rooftop to land in front of him.

"Sorry," said Emerald, the green-haired girl. "We were on our way to the heist, when our friends here spotted the Schnee heiress." She shrugged, trying to hide her discomfort. "They apparently just _had_ to take a shot at her. Well, we do want to get the city running scared, I guess?"

"So, one four-man trigger team, one squad of mooks, and you two clowns," counted off Roman. "So why haven't I seen you carry out the darling of the society scene yet? And why does the alleyway look like someone bombed a ketchup shipment by mistake?"

"Because this moron lost track of your friend Red," said Emerald in little more than a snarl.

"Well that's lovely, good to hear my good buddy is still alive and kicking," said Roman in a saccharine tone. "I'm sure she made an adorable addition to the party."

"More than a cute addition, she punched the tickets of the whole trigger team," complained Emerald. "The drone footage is just absurd."

_That_ news rocked Roman back onto his heels. "Well, ain't that something," he mused. "Cinder will just love hearing that. She didn't see you two, I trust?"

"No, she didn't see us," said Emerald.

Mercury shifted uncomfortably. "Well, those students that Neopolitan just saw off kinda ... saw me. When I was trying to find Red again."

Roman stared blankly at the young man before a very caustic smile broke out across his face. "So... you're telling me you let Beacon Academy students see you just before Cinder was due to take the two of you on her mission to Beacon? I hope you're looking forward to telling her all about how _you_ screwed up her mission before it started."


	8. The Skeletons in the Room

**A/N: The response to the last chapter was phenomenal (past 6k views, woo!), and I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed or favourited FDS. It has been really encouraging. Clearly there is a bit of a taste for more action in the story. ****This chapter has taken longer than expected to put up, partly because my lovely wife took a fine-tooth comb to the first seven chapters and has made a host of little edits and fixes. So all seven chapters have been re-uploaded and should now be a much improved experience.**

**In response to a particular review: Yes, Blake is still hiding her faunus nature from her teammates as well. **

**Thanks to my proofreaders (my wife, as well as Leviticus Wilkes and SLtheThird). Feedback is always greatly appreciated.**

* * *

><p>When Yang stirred on Sunday morning, she was remarkably well-rested and cheerful. Dancing the night away in Vale with Blake for company had done wonders for her mood, and when they had come home they thought nothing of the fact that Weiss and Ruby were already home and tucked away in their beds, snuggled in tightly. Both had been altogether too tired to consider waking them and asking how their days had been. Yang hadn't even wanted to harangue Ruby for not calling all day.<p>

After all, she was thrilled to have Ruby spending a whole day with a friend from Beacon without needing to rely on big sister. When they both attended Signal in different year groups, spending time with her little sister had always managed to be a problem. But her sister needed to spread her wings on her own, she knew. After all, if Yang couldn't trust Ruby to handle herself around a simple friend, how could she ever trust her little sister when she started to date?

But nonetheless, when Yang awoke and looked around, she cocked her head strangely to see Ruby sitting at the foot of Weiss' bed, head bowed. She was talking in hushed whispers with the heiress, and wearing the pleated red skirt and white top that she had been given last week, augmented by her hood. Yang glanced around and didn't see Ruby's battle dress, and thought that curious. But most of her focus was on the expression on Ruby's face, who looked like her mind was a million miles and a million years away.

Yang shook her head and dropped down off her bunk, still clothed in yesterday's outfit, having been too tired to change when she came back to the dorm. "Morning, you guys," she yawned cheerfully.

"Hey, sis," replied Ruby, who turned to look up at her pensively.

"Good morning, Yang," greeted Weiss, who was definitely looking under the weather.

"Sheesh, you two are about as cheerful as a morgue at the moment," dismissed Yang with a raspberry as she turned to check on Blake. With her back turned, she missed Weiss' wince at the mention of morgues.

"Uh, Yang," began the team leader hesitantly. "Can we talk for a bit? It's about something serious."

"Sure, Rubes," said Yang as she saw Blake beginning to wake up with the conversation around her. "Don't suppose you guys got breakfast, since you're already up?"

"Uh, no, not yet," admitted Ruby with a glance at a surprised Weiss.

"Alright, let me go bring back breakfast for us all, cause if you're going to be asking me something serious, I want to have something in my stomach helping me wake up."

"O-okay…," allowed Ruby hesitantly. "It's not a question though," she said under her breath.

"Let me go with you," came Blake's voice through a yawn. "Sooner I get some tea, the better."

"Alright, that's a plan, you two don't go anywhere, alright," ordered Yang as she went for the door.

Together, Blake and Yang made their way through the winding halls and corridors, walking in silence as Blake continued to drag herself to wakefulness. After a couple minutes, Yang turned to her partner and asked, "So did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah, I did," admitted Blake. "I really didn't think I would. But the movie was good-"

"Drool-worthy," amended Yang with a wink.

"That too," agreed Blake, colouring slightly. "But I had a good time."

"Glad to hear it," said Yang, nudging Blake playfully. "We even had a bit of excitement thrown in on the deal."

"I could do with a bit less of that sort of excitement," drawled Blake. "I don't like fighting those guys."

"Well, I always enjoy a good rumble, a couple swings, a nice KO, evening like the old Kenn-," mused Yang, before cutting off abruptly and glancing at Blake. She motored on, ostentatiously throwing a few mock punches at thin air. "Didn't seem scary at all, really. Well, except for that bunny."

"Did the fact they were White Fang make it any more enjoyable?" asked Blake in as flat a tone as she could, hiding her nervousness.

"Eh? Only in the sense it added a bit of spice because they're well-trained," explained Yang. "Honestly, I've always had a bit of time for the White Fang. But they seem to have moved further away from faunus rights and more towards, well, banditry and plunder. I like to fight as much as the next girl, but that isn't cool."

Blake bit her lip and then tried to change subjects, wanting to get off the topic of the White Fang. "I'm so glad Cardin's out of our group for tomorrow's class with Oobleck," she said. "I was sick of hearing him."

Yang blinked. "Huh?" she said uncertainly in her still-sleepy state before it clicked. "Oh, right, the discussion on faunus rights militancy. Yeah, I'm happy to be rid of those guys. Bunch of bigots."

The faunus girl looked at her partner steadily, until Yang noticed and cocked an eyebrow. "You have to be one of the most open to faunus people I've ever met, you know that? Like, for a human."

"Well," began Yang hesitantly as they opened the side-door to the cafeteria to line-up for food. "I… Well, apart from yourself, of course."

"Y-yeah," muttered Blake as they took their spots in the line. Both could sense something unsaid, but neither was willing to risk the direction things were going. Blake in particular was starting to feel the weight of the bow atop her head, and the fact she still kept herself apart from her friends. Hiding from Weiss was a no brainer, but the more time went on without her partner knowing who she really was under the bow, the more Blake began to feel treacherous rather than safe. Surely Yang could be trusted?

About twenty meters away, among the cafeteria tables, were four very anxious looking students. Jaune's team had one of the games they had picked up on the way back from Vale on the table, and were picking at the game pieces disinterestedly. Their food, likewise, was hardly touched, and they idly poked at the pancakes and hashbrowns.

Nora happened to look up and spot the two new arrivals just as they joined the queue for take-away service. "Yang!" she called out, jumping up from her seat. At the sound of the name, Nora's teammates each turned and likewise scrambled to their feet. All four of them rushed over to mob the two students.

"Wh-what!?" blurted Yang as Nora rushed up and grabbed her, nearly bowling them over into the kitchen wall. "Careful, Nora, careful!"

"Yang, are they okay, did they come home yesterday?" asked Nora in a rush.

"What are you talking about, did who get home?" asked Yang in complete confusion, while Blake stood back with a dreadful cold lump forming in her gut.

"Ruby and Weiss, did they make it home safely?" asked Pyrrha in anxiously, wringing her hands around Milo's haft anxiously.

"What are you guys talking about, Ruby and Weiss are in their dorms, all in one piece," asked Yang as she began to panic.

The four teammates exchanged a look and looked at Yang hesitantly. "Didn't they tell you?" asked Jaune nervously.

"The White Fang attacked Weiss yesterday," explained Pyrrha. "They told us they were safe, but we haven't been able to get a hold of them since the SDC picked them up."

Yang stared at them in mute horror.

* * *

><p>Silence held sway in a student dormitory while the morning sunlight streamed through the window. Nothing but the quiet muffled voices of neighbouring rooms could be heard. On the floor of the room, near the leftmost bed, was a collection of stockings, boots and discards, capped off with a rumpled blue and white dress, and a red and black dress. The only two souls in the room were bound up tightly in the sheets of their bed, their golden and jet black hair interwoven on the pillow.<p>

Only Miltiades was awake, resting on her side next to her "it's-complicated" girlfriend, who dozed on in peaceful bliss. Around Alice's neck still hung her silver rabbit pendant, which she never took off, nestled in the hollow of her bust. Miltia was running her fingers over the jewelry idly, tracing each line and facet one by one.

Alice didn't often have her dorm room to herself, so when they realised her teammates would be out seeing friends or family, she had invited Miltia over, who had jumped at the chance. Life had been very weird for the former underworld enforcer over the last week, seemingly bouncing from one unwelcome development to the next. It was all taking an increasing toll on her. But in Alice's arms, snuggled in tight to another's aura, she had slept through the night untroubled. Now that morning had come she was smiling gently as she toyed with Alice's pendant.

She knew what was in it, of course, but that didn't bother her. Junior's club was like most other popular nightspots; party drugs had little power to shock her. Although she had always steered clear of them herself, Alice was a big girl and could make her own choices. If she were perfectly honest, she also didn't mind the hatchet-job it pulled on the society girl's inhibitions when she indulged.

Her lazy morning wasn't to last, however, as Alice's scroll beeped and shook loudly on the bedside table. The blonde girl startled and with a flutter of lashes she opened her eyes.

"Morning, sleepyhead," whispered Miltia.

"You're awake already?" replied Alice groggily. When Miltia made a little assenting noise, she added, "Did my scroll ring?"

"Yeah, it did, but it can wait," muttered Miltia as she leaned over and began to kiss the other girl slowly and sweetly.

A few minutes later, Alice sat up in bed as Miltia gingerly walked to Alice's closet, where she kept some of her own clothes. The Sgathan girl tapped away on her phone, bringing up the message, whistling jovially as she worked, until she abruptly let out a joyful squeal.

"What is it?" asked Miltia as she dragged out black shorts and a red blouse.

"Oh, that's wonderful, that's perfect!" exclaimed Alice giddily. "What a gift! Do you remember that I wanted to see Crescent Rose in action?"

"Yes…," said Miltia uncomfortably, as she remembered yesterday's conversation in all of its awkwardness.

"I don't know all of the circumstances," said Alice with a beaming smile. "But it looks like our friend Weiss took Ruby to Tybalt the Prince at the Empire Hotel and she got into a bit of duel."

"A 'bit' of a duel?" echoed Miltia sceptically. "Hey, isn't that place some kind of society scene?"

"It certainly is," confirmed Alice, before glancing up. "It's a shame you don't let me treat you, their full breakfasts make for the ultimate 'morning afters'." She held up her scroll, showing a video file ready to play. "Now it just so happens that one of my friends was there to record it. Do you think your teammates would like to see their dark belle in battle? I know the gentleman she fought and he is most proficient. You might learn something that could keep you safe in future."

Ignoring a feeling that she would somehow find a way to regret this, Miltia nodded and reached for her own scroll. "Well, if I don't at least offer it to Melanie, she'll be in my ear for a week about it when she finds out." She called her sister as Alice went through the message that accompanied the video, smiling to herself as she read about the wager. Miltia hung up and sighed. "You need to get dressed quickly, they'll be here in five."

Alice tossed her scroll to Miltia and went for her closet. "You were right, my dear. Your friend Ruby swings our way; the wager was a kiss from Weiss if Ruby lost, and a kiss from the other duellist's female friend for Ruby if she won."

"Do you people always duel over trifles?" asked Miltia dryly.

"Trifles make the best stakes," explained Alice airily. "You can dance beautifully without having to be all caught up in pragmatism." She quickly pulled out a blue shirt and a white sleeveless dress and laid them on the bed. "And we never wager Lien, it's just uncouth. Favours are so much more interesting. And the bigger the favour, the angrier we are."

* * *

><p>Blake swung a leg in front of Yang's and locked her arms into the crooks of the bigger girl's. "Yang, stop!" she demanded as the freaked out older sister prepared to run off. "Just stop for a moment!"<p>

"Let me go, Blake, I've got to go make sure Ruby's alright," ranted Yang. "And then kill her for not calling us when it happened!"

"Not the right attitude, Yang, listen to me," hissed Blake, struggling to restrain the tremendously strong young woman.

Nora moved in front of Yang and placed her hands on the blonde's shoulders. The hammer-woman's strength was prodigious and Yang knew she wouldn't be able to force her way free. "Please, you need to listen before you charge," pleaded Nora. "Ruby isn't a Grimm, and she won't need you breaking the door down."

Faced with even Nora being serious and speaking sense, Yang stopped her struggles, but her lilac eyes were still wide and shimmering. "I know, I know, but they didn't tell us anything, I haven't heard anything about this."

"Yang, think," said Blake. "They said they needed to talk to us just before they left. Remember, Ruby and Weiss thought we were off in the suburbs yesterday, and if SDC security picked them up, there was nothing we could do to help them. Don't be angry with them."

"Y-you know, from a certain point of view it was kinder this way," said Jaune. Yang's right fist nearly escaped Blake and Nora, but they reacted quickly and Jaune jumped back safely.

Blake used the calmest voice she could manage. "Yang, it's our turn in the line. We'll get our breakfast, we'll hear what our friends here have to say, and then we'll go back and _calmly_ talk to the two of them. So let's stop causing a scene for the gossip hounds."

"Okay, okay," conceded Yang, after which she was released. Yang breathed in and nodded to herself. "I'm okay," she said, holding up her hands placatingly as her friends waited for her to make another mad dash. Satisfied that she wouldn't do anything rash just yet, Blake went to place their breakfast order while Yang paced anxiously.

Together, the students went back to their table, with Yang sitting next to Pyrrha and Jaune, and Blake next to Nora and Ren. Being the calmer and slightly less involved of the pair, Blake put a forestalling hand on Yang's wrist. "Let me," she said quietly, getting a nod from the blonde girl, who was doing her very best to be good.

"Okay, what do you know?" asked Blake.

The other students exchanged a look and Jaune became their voice. "We had gone into Vale to get boardgames, and because we don't know the place very well, we messaged Ruby for suggestions," he began. "Ruby recommended a store she was currently at, some big five-story place."

"Bounty," named Yang softly, knowing Ruby's favourite store well.

"That's the one. When we got there, Weiss was next door getting something to drink, and Ruby was still upstairs," continued Jaune. "We said hi to Snow Angel, then went on into the store and talked to Ruby for a bit. But then Ruby got a call, and we heard her talking about something … really odd, about something being her ground, not someone else's."

Blake and Yang exchanged a look, thinking back to Weiss' explanation that she never fought on ground she thought someone else had prepared.

"After that," took over Pyrrha, "She actually left through the third story window and went up. Some strange boy on a scroll came around, complaining to the person he was talking to that he had lost 'the Schnee's friend'. He asked us if we had seen Ruby, so we sent him in the wrong direction because we didn't like what was going on. Just as we were about to go figure out how to corner him and beat some answers out of him, there was a big explosion in the alleyway and we could hear a battle raging and people screaming."

"Oh god," breathed Yang, not liking any of this at all.

"Yang, you punched out two White Fang grunts yourself on Friday, don't freak out just yet," hissed Blake from behind her hand. "So what did you guys do after that?" asked Blake.

"We rushed down to the ground floor and made for the alley. The battle noise had already stopped," explained Pyrrha. "We hoped we'd be there in time if anything had happened to them… But we couldn't get into the alley. Just before we reached it, these two vans showed up with more White Fang."

Blake looked stricken. "How do you know they were White Fang?" she asked.

"They were uniformed," replied Ren. "Mask and all."

The faunus girl didn't reply openly, but her lips silently formed a curse and disappointment was written clearly across her face, fear masked by her annoyance. Underneath her bow, her cat ears twitched worriedly.

"But the strangest thing," added Nora loudly, "Was the not-faunus girl." Blake reared back in shock and exchanged a glance with Yang. When Yang shrugged as well, Blake rolled her hand in a hurry up gesture. Nora continued with aplomb, "She was pretty odd, with like two tone hair. Looked like strawberry and chocolate, enough to make me hungry, and she was really elegantly dressed, and had an umbrella."

"Actually, I think it was a parasol," noted Ren.

"Like I said, an umbrella," retorted Nora.

"This girl was scary, there was a presence about her," said Pyrrha. "I'm decent at gauging how strong people are, and she was very dangerous. She came over to talk to us, and basically told us to go away. At this point Nora had gotten a message to your sister and Weiss, and they messaged back that they had escaped safely, so we left and headed back to Vale. We would have called you guys, but since they already had their scrolls we didn't think we needed to."

"Okay, well, it doesn't seem like it was too bad," said Blake slowly and firmly. "Both Ruby and Weiss are safely back in the dorm and didn't seem hurt."

The four members of the other team exchanged another glance, and Pyrrha continued with an anguished expression. "Blake, Yang…," she began. "While we were talking to the human girl … they were carrying casualties out of the alley. There … was a lot of blood. Bad wounds, broken auras, and a _lot_ of blood."

Several silent heartbeats passed at the table, before Blake whispered, "What do you mean?"

"I … look, I don't know for sure, I _can't_ know for sure," admitted Pyrrha. "But my gut tells me not all of the people they dragged out of the alley were alive, or would be alive for long. I know society girls like Weiss tend to fight faunus groups pretty viciously, and I'm worried Weiss may have fallen back on … bad habits."

Blake put her hand over her mouth, not trusting herself to speak. For her part, Yang was silent, looking down at the table.

"But, I don't want to jump to conclusions, they may all be alive, and there are a lot of possible reasons for why things got bloody," said Pyrrha, trying to backtrack as she saw their reactions.

"I think I need to go talk to Ruby now," said Yang quietly, unable to look at her peers.

* * *

><p>Miltiades looked up as her twin Melanie walked into the room with her customary arrogance and glamour. The girl was clad in a green dress with a flared skirt that matched her eyes, plus stockings, an ensemble that turned boys' heads in just the way she liked.<p>

"Hey Miltia," greeted Melanie, glancing down at the unmade bed and raising her brows archly.

"Hey, Mel," replied Miltia with a wave from where she sat on the foot of Alice's bed. She had finally gotten to sit down after madly clearing away their rumpled clothes from public view.

"Hey there, Miltia," asked Velvet with a polite smile, coming in behind her team leader. She sniffed the air and went straight to the window of the room and jimmied it open. She caught a glance from Miltia. "What? Bit stuffy in here, I felt like a bit of fresh air," she explained, not fooling anyone.

"Much better," grumbled Aurea under her breath. "Where's your friend, anyway?"

"Just straightening up," said Miltia with a wave at the bathroom door. "She'll be back out in a moment."

"Alright, so what's the juicy gossip?" asked Melanie, sitting on the next bed in from Alice's and crossing her legs stylishly. Aurea soon joined her, propping herself up on her knees, while Velvet sat down next to her partner, on the coverlets.

"It's about your fascinating friend, Ruby Rose," explained Alice as she rejoined the group with a cheshire smile. "I know some people with interesting connections, and one of them came by some footage of Ruby that I think you would want to see."

"I hope you haven't gotten us out here on a Sunday morning just to see Ruby make a twit of herself in public or something," warned Velvet, glancing at her partner, who shook her head reassuringly.

"Oh dear, you of little faith," said Alice in exaggerated dismay. "Weiss apparently took Ruby out to some fancy, toffee-nosed cafe I have never heard of called Tybalt the Prince."

Melanie covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, "Ooh, I know that place, it's a total society hang out. What did that silly brat do?"

"She was challenged to a duel," answered Alice, grinning like a crocodile. "And took them up on it. I thought you guys might like a bit of combat footage with sparring classes coming up."

"Oh, we would, we would," said Melanie, eyes sparkling. "People think the rich boys and girls can't fight because they're pampered, but they can fight like alleycats. Who was it, I might recognise the name?"

"The note I got," said the secret society girl, "Said that it was a duel for favours, Ruby Rose and India Tullamarine the duellists, Weiss Schnee and," she named, before pausing dramatically, "Venus Carlton were offering the favours." She coughed delicately. "Is what the note said anyway," she added, lest Melanie suspect her familiarity with the terms.

"India Tullamarine," mused Melanie. "Oh! The one with the fire sword! He's so dangerous with that thing, and he's a playboy even by their standards." She paused and her eyes went wide with surprise. "_Wait_, a kiss bet and Ruby wanted that Venus cow?" She turned to face Miltiades with a dark look. "So, sister, how _did_ you know Ruby was a skirt-chaser? I assume she was the one you had in mind at Friday's meeting." Miltiades didn't answer, giving her sister a cool look until Melanie sighed irritably. "Oh, fine, _whatever_. Keep your secrets."

There was a larger screen sitting on the room's desk, so Alice held her scroll up to it to transfer the file, and then sat back on the other side of Miltia to watch the video. A little wait screen popped up, and then shaky footage shot from a high-end scroll appeared.

"Whoa, Ruby dressed up," muttered Velvet, the first thing she noticed. Next to her both Alice and Miltia exchanged a look, having spotted the same thing.

"Yeah, I guess Weiss made sure she looked the part," agreed Melanie slowly, watching the girl in her blue dress settle into her stance. "What the hell? Draw your weapon, showoff, that sword is for real."

When the fight started, Ruby moved almost too fast for even the fancy scroll's ability to record, and the shocked reaction from the crowd in the recording was mirrored by the exclamations from the girls in the dorm room. A hush fell over the room as the two weapons clashed in the recording and Velvet and Alice saw Crescent Rose in battle for the first time, while Melanie and Aurea got their first decent looks.

"Man, that'd be pretty hard to keep up with," muttered Aurea as she watched the flurry of strikes rolling back and forth.

"Yeah, India is a tournament veteran, yet he's not making headway," said Melanie in shock. "I didn't realise Ruby was so fast with that clumsy looking thing."

Miltia laughed bitterly at her teammates. "Look at you guys changing your tunes. Any more 'Miltia letting down the team' comments? Everyone still think they took the hard cases while I screwed up against the kid?"

Her sister sighed with exasperation. "Miltia, like no one in this room thought that, don't be paranoid."

There was a pause, then Aurea added under her breath, "He's still lasted twice as long."

The girl in red and black pointed angrily at the golden girl. "Oh, whatever! Don't pretend none of you thought it! Even you, Melanie, have been doubting me since that last night at Junior's when Yang took me out first. Well, I talked with Glynda while I was recuperating about the fights, and all of you were losing; I just happened to have the hardest fight!"

"Easy, Millie...," implored Alice anxiously, alarmed at her girl's outburst and the apparent hole she was digging for herself, even as Melanie rolled her eyes and Velvet cringed.

"Would you all at least try and think like Huntresses for a moment," pleaded Miltia in frustration. "Of course he's lasted, but don't you realise that Ruby has only delivered one proper offensive blow in this whole duel! The opening hit, which flattened him! Everything else is tail-flicks and despoiling hacks. All she's done so far is practice her defensive drills on a live foe. So just think about what's missing from all this!"

"Are you sure?" asked Velvet as her faunus ears flattened back.

Alice gasped, eyes wide as she figured out what the irate Malachite girl had recognised immediately. "Ah," muttered Miltia with a sideways glance. "I expected you'd get it, after you inspected Crescent Rose."

"Well, at least your girlfriend knows what you're on about," sighed Melanie. A predatory smile spread across her face. "Ooh, nice hit India, that'll...," she began to say before they watched Ruby recover as if she had never been hit. "No way!"

Weiss' voice could be heard distinctly, "_Ruby, you've had your fun, stop toying with him and finish the duel._"

"I was right," said Alice amid the consternation as they watched Ruby chamber a round. "She hadn't used a single rifle round so far. She was going half-speed."

How exactly it was that Ruby finished the fight, none of them could tell. There was a storm of rose-petals and a blur of motion, and shockwaves shook the scroll. A noise and a bright flash were the only clues to what had happened. When the vision cleared up India was half-embedded in the far wall's new crater.

Four of the five girls in the room were stunned into silence.

"See! Do you all see, yet? I faced that power from the first swing to the last," exclaimed Miltiades. "She wasn't trying to impress an audience when she fought me; she was trying to take me out as efficiently as she could. Plus, I was the one who was shot carrying the stinger!"

"She told me she fights in a style derived from Professor Qrow of Signal Academy," noted Alice quietly. "I don't know much about Ruby's style, but I know about Qrow's, a bit. Four Feathers, it's called, symbolising Blade, Beak, Rifle and Tail. Most scythe styles are Blade, Tail and sometimes Rifle, because it's expensive to reinforce the point enough to use it. Plus it makes for a much more … violent, bloody style."

"You were right, I guess," admitted Melanie, looking at her twin. "We doubted you after the fight, and I think we just got proved wrong. She was pretty scary."

"Pretty scary?" echoed Miltia, not quite mollified. "Mel, you've seen it once out of the corner of your eye while you were busy fighting Weiss, and once in shaky scroll footage. Challenge her to an official spar once your new equipment arrives. But only an official one, okay? I'd want Glynda on hand to call things off safely if I were you."

* * *

><p>To say that Yang was scared as she reached for the door of her dorm room would be an understatement. For all that she was in the position of the judge rather than the judged, she was more frightened than if it were her own acts on trial. Having other people judge her was something she had encountered and stopped caring about long ago. But to know that she was about to have to listen to her sister offer a confession, or even worse, a lie, was gut wrenching for her. She had faced strong men, vicious women, and Grimm the size of houses, all without flinching. But Ruby could break her heart in the next few minutes, and Yang could do nothing about it.<p>

The door opened, and Yang's eyes immediately sought out her sister. She was sitting next to Weiss on the edge of the heiress' bed. And when Ruby looked up at her with her sad eyes, Yang knew she wasn't going to enjoy this.

"That look," noted Weiss perceptively. "You've heard something."

"We talked to Jaune's team," explained Blake coldly. "About a fight with the White Fang." The anger distilled inside the faunus slowly, positive as she was that Weiss was to blame for any deaths.

"I wanted you to hear it from me first, sis," said Ruby softly. "I screwed up."

Yang walked to the desk and set down the breakfast carry case. She handed Ruby a hot chocolate and a muffin, trying her very best to stay calm for her sister. Weiss got her coffee and Blake her tea, and the simple mechanical exercise distracted Yang and let her settle a little.

"Alright, Rubes, tell us a story," she said gently. "Just … relax. Nothing you could say will stop you from being my sister. From what Pyrrha told us, your lives were in mortal danger, so whatever you have to say, I'll understand. I just want to know what happened to you."

The team leader bit her lip, and took a mammoth bite out of her chocolate muffin, and a long draught from the hot chocolate. It did the trick, steadying her nerves as the chocolate triggered an endorphin rush. "Alright. I don't want any of you to interrupt. Let me say the whole thing, okay guys?"

"Sure thing, Rubes," said Yang, smiling only on the outside. Blake just nodded, trying not to openly glare at Weiss.

It was harder for the faunus girl to be angry with Weiss now that she was face to face. Rumours had run hot and fast through the faunus community about not just Weiss, but a lot of her peers. Now that she could see how badly shaken Weiss was by the episode she wondered whether she had misjudged her teammate. Whatever else was true, even if she had killed yesterday, she clearly hadn't enjoyed the experience. But still, she couldn't help but think that with so much smoke, there had to be some fire.

Ruby exhaled and began to run through the bloody tale, being as honest as she could. She didn't talk about her morning with the duel and the confessions, starting only at the toy store. As the story reached the start of the battle, she could tell Blake was shocked at how matter-of-factly she described defeating the sniper. But when she described the start of the main fight, both Yang and Blake's faces fell and they began to try to talk.

"Nope!" insisted Ruby, holding up a hand. "Just, no, stop, please guys!" It had the desired effect. "I told you, let me finish the whole thing. I don't want to miss anything, and I want you guys to know the whole story before you ask anything. Yes, I know that … I know that's fatal. I know what that means." She looked down and swallowed, and she was trembling now that she had made the admission.

What bothered her was not the killing. It wasn't her first and she was beginning to suspect that if she continued to walk this path, it wouldn't be the last, either. What upset her was that she could no longer compartmentalise this away from her family and friends. Ruby had always been strong enough, and determined enough, to go as far as she needed in battle, but that had always been something hidden beneath the surface. Now it was out in the open, leaving a little loose string that others might follow.

She told the story as best she could, up until the point when the SDC had picked them up off the street and evacuated them to an SDC facility and then back to Beacon.

"I wish you hadn't been put in that situation," said Blake before Yang could gather her thoughts. The faunus girl wasn't sure how to be comforting in the face of what she had heard. On some level the old loyalties didn't just burn, but screamed angrily at hearing of two brothers of the White Fang slaughtered. But how could she be angry? Assassins killed by their marks surely gave up any right to sympathy. Those who played the game accepted the consequences. And of all the people to be angry at, how could she be angry at Ruby?

The adorable girl had a friend in danger and risked everything to pull through for her. As much as Blake's old allegiances hurt, her new allegiances to her team were thrilled. Their leader had saved one of their lives, shouldering the responsibility and the guilt herself. Between what Pyrrha and Ruby herself had said, Blake was sure she had done it without a second thought, and that noble idea shone out through the carnage.

"That makes two of us," agreed Weiss softly. "It wasn't something someone as young as you should have had to face."

"Hey!" objected Ruby with sudden anger. "You said you were younger than I am now when they first tried to kill you. Don't try and coddle me."

Yang moved to sit down between the pair and wrapped an arm around either shoulder, pulling them both close. "I don't care guys. You were in danger, and you're alive. Nothing could stop that being the most important thing for me, ever."

"Yang," whispered Ruby in surprise. When she looked up, she saw the tracks of tears down her sister's cheeks.

"No, just … don't say anything. Both of you," pled Yang. "You're safe. I … I don't care about anything else. Anything, just be safe."

Blake sat down on the bed next to Weiss. She wanted to reassure them as well, because she knew that even if Yang didn't care, there would be repercussions if it became common knowledge that Ruby had killed two people. But there would be time for that later.

Feeling the dark-haired girl's weight settle next to her, Weiss reached out and took Blake's hand in her own. The other girl was startled by the move, but when she looked down she realised that Weiss looked badly shaken up.

"You're really feeling this, Weiss," said Blake in surprise.

"I thought it was behind me now that I'm at Beacon," said Weiss softly. "I thought I was safe, and out of the dance. But I still have a target on my back."

Blake squeezed Weiss' hand, unable to be angry when she sounded like nothing more than a frightened little girl. It was hardly the monstrous image of rumour.

"Are you okay, Yang?" asked Ruby in concern.

Yang sniffled and nodded. "Look at you, trying to see if _I'm_ okay. You two are the ones who were in danger. I was … halfway across the city … nowhere near when my sister was in danger," whispered the blonde guiltily. "Look, Rubes, this may sound awful, but as much as I'm … not happy that you killed someone, I'm eternally grateful that when you had to, you could. I need to hug Uncle Qrow next time we see him."

The blonde girl sniffled again and the tears began to flow more freely. "Fuck," she whispered. "How could I have gone home and told dad that he'd lost a third girl from his life, while I was nowhere nearby?"

Ruby put down her empty cup and wrapped her arms around her big sister. "Don't start that, Yang. I want to be a Huntress," she said slowly with a powerful inner steel. "I'll be in danger more and more. If you're there, I know that you'll have my back. If you aren't, one of us will instead. But please don't smother me. Please, please, you can't smother me."

"That's easier said than done, sis," said Yang, resting her cheek on the top of Ruby's head. "But I'll do my best for you."

The four girls remained like that for a long time as the implications of the previous day sat heavily upon them.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Jaune and his team were sitting on the floor of their dorm, clustered around a hex-based board in between the centre beds, with a collection of punch-out pieces, rule books and the ubiquitous dice. It wasn't one of the more casual board games they had hoped to start Jaune off on, but they had been surprised at how ably he had taken to the challenge. All three of them were impressed by the immediate progress, but Pyrrha as the only one who knew Jaune's secret civilian background, was amazed by how quickly he was learning principles.<p>

Their first simple scenario in the war-game had seen Jaune charge heavy Altesian android infantry and heavy mechs thoughtlessly at Ren's Vacuo light infantry. When he triggered a series of ambushes and ended up with enfilade fire cutting his forces to pieces and isolating his battle mechs, Jaune had been angry with himself. But more than that, he learned.

The next time he took some of his older, less powerful android squads and put them out as flankers and managed to see off the Vale riflemen Nora had prepared along his advance. With that out of the way, he had confidently led his heavy mechs straight through the centre. He promptly ran into her minefields with devastating results, taking a horrible toll in machinery and handlers.

Now Jaune was sitting across from a fiendishly smiling Pyrrha Nikos, looking down at the board wondering how he was going to get himself out of his latest calumny. Everything had seemed to be going to plan as his new scouts found the mine field, his flankers held their own against her Mistral warriors, while his main force advanced through the mine-free channels cleared by the engineers he brought this time. But just as he thought he was getting somewhere, the centre of Pyrrha's line pulled back. When he followed he realised it had been just a token force all along, and he had just put himself directly between her strong left and right flanks, opening him up to murderous fire from both sides.

"Oh, come on!" he wailed as the dice rolled implacably and hypothetical robots met horrible, fiery fates.

"Don't despair, Jaune," reassured Ren while trying to suppress his amusement.

"You mean there's a way out of this?" asked Jaune optimistically.

"Well, no," admitted Ren. "Your force has four turns to live, tops, but you're not repeating mistakes between games and that's the important part."

"Oh, come on," groaned Jaune as another battle mech token disappeared from the board.

There was a soft knock at the door and all four students turned towards it.

"It's open," called out Pyrrha.

The door swung slowly open, and a young lass in white and red stepped into the room. For a moment, without the battle dress, weapon and cheerful expression, Jaune didn't recognise her. This girl looked depressed, was dressed like the classy sort of girl he used to crush on back at his old school, and didn't have so much as a spare bullet on her person. Most of all, she looked to be in powerful need of a hug.

"I heard you guys wanted to talk to me," said Ruby quietly. "Is now a good time?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" said Jaune. He turned back to Pyrrha and glanced down at the board. "Looks like we'll need to cut this short, Pyrrha; call it a draw?" he asked, trying his best smooth-talker voice.

Pyrrha laughed, as they both knew she was a couple turns at most from obliterating Jaune. "If you like, Jaune," she allowed graciously.

Nora rolled her eyes. "Don't baby him, Pyrrha," she admonished.

"Oh, I like your shirt, Nora," said Ruby with a forced smile, looking at the care-worn shirt, on which was written, "I Survived 7 Days at Mistral Tournament and All I Got was this Lousy T-Shirt".

"Eh? Oh, this?" asked Nora. "I swapped it with Pyrrha for one of my 'boop' brand shirts. Pyrrha has to own up to winning the tournament, no pretending she just got a t-shirt," she explained with a laugh.

"You must be looking forward to tomorrow's sparring class," said Ruby as she sat on the edge of one of the beds overlooking their game board. "Especially with the Vytal Festival soon."

"Of course," replied Pyrrha. "The tournament has a very exciting field this year, much stronger than the ones in the Mistral Regional, so I think it'll be a great challenge. I'm hoping to reach the Round of 16. I'd be really proud if I could get that far."

"The bookmakers have her as third-shortest odds to win the tournament," said Ren dryly before he looked back at Ruby. "You must be nervous. You normally like small talk as much as I do."

"That obvious is it?" asked Ruby with a sigh. "Look, I wanted to come and thank you guys. Yang and Blake told me you guys were rushing right out to the alley to try and back us up. You guys didn't have to do that."

"Aw, come on," said Nora with a wave. "Don't be silly. Besides, Yang would have killed us if we hadn't." An uncertain, deeply vulnerable look crossed Ruby's face, prompting Nora to hold up her hands. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"Of course we were going to try and help," said Pyrrha kindly. "You're our friend. We're really sorry we didn't get there in time to head things off."

"Hey, I wanted to go through the window and straight into the fight," interjected Jaune.

"Jaune," began Ren calmly for the tenth time, "Never go out through a window, blind, straight into a free fire zone. That's suicidal." Jaune just grunted in response.

"Ruby, I know you've been through a lot, and that must have been very frightening for you," began Pyrrha gently. The gorgeous red-head got to her feet and walked towards her visitor. "But we have some serious questions."

"I thought you would," said Ruby quietly. "That's why I'm here," she added, trailing off slightly as she watched the older girl come near. She shifted as she felt Pyrrha's weight settle onto the bed next to her, all but touching her.

What followed was something all but outside of the younger girl's control. If Pyrrha had been aware of the emotional and hormonal tumult that roiled inside of Ruby, as well as how the girl had customarily coped with that level of stress at Signal Academy, she certainly would have allowed for a safer distance. But she had no way of realising and so sat hip to hip with Ruby, so close the girl felt the body heat from her curvaceous, mature classmate down the length of her body, jolting her eyes open with an almost electric spark. The ghost of a blush began to colour her cheeks. '_No, come on Ruby, this isn't the time_,' she thought panickedly.

"We didn't get there in time to stop the fight," admitted Pyrrha, "But I'd like to think we stopped them chasing you."

"Then you probably saved our necks," said Ruby modestly.

A serious look came over Pyrrha. As if she were about to step into the arena, she prepared herself to interrogate the girl, breathing in and settling her emotions. Ruby tried to center herself as well, knowing that what Pyrrha asked had the potential to be enormously dangerous to her standing at Beacon, and if she didn't manage this right, she could really make life hard for herself. But after one inadvertent glance to the side everything went fuzzy when she thought, '_Wow, she can fill out that shirt_.' Her blush immediately deepened, much to her frustration.

The worst of the frustration was that Ruby knew exactly why her subconscious was reacting this way, and it was very much a self-inflicted wound. It didn't get any better when she spotted Nora watching her with an amused expression, and Ruby swore that the eccentric student was seeing straight through her blush.

"Y-you know, maybe this isn't-" she began to stammer.

"Ruby, we saw the casualties being taken out," stated Pyrrha in the sort of voice that Ruby imagined her using in battle, smooth, polished and strong as marble. The younger girl gulped, her hands folded tightly in her lap. "There was a lot of blood." Her face softened as she leaned in closer. "I know that girls in circles like the ones Weiss grew up in would often fight with groups like the White Fang, and some of them … really go to war. Not like us students taking part in the Grind, but war. They don't play by the norms that most aura users abide by, the norms I expect in my friends."

There was a very sour taste in the back of Ruby's mouth that slightly tempered the fuzziness she felt at being so near to such a pretty girl while her stress levels were skyrocketing. "Pyrrha, that's my partner you're talking about," she complained

"I'm sorry, Ruby, I'm really, really sorry," apologised Pyrrha reflexively at being challenged. "But I knew a lot of girls like Weiss in Mistral from being feted after the tournaments, and I know what a lot of them got up to in their little private wars, and I didn't like it. At all."

"Pyrrha!" gasped Ruby, appalled at the implications.

"Ruby, you're young, and you're so innocent, and I don't think you realise just how dangerous and vicious society girls like Weiss can be," said Pyrrha soothingly. "I know they look like princesses, but they can be real villains, too." As the red-head leaned in she innocently put a hand on Ruby's leg to try and calm her.

The moment Ruby felt the touch of another girl's hand above her knee white noise filled her mind. It had been literally months since she had last felt that and she had missed it dreadfully. Now her current anxiety made it so much worse. She bounced up from the bed, hands up and nearly stepped on the game board. "Nope," she said in a little squeak. "Can't do it, nope, nope, nope."

Nora nearly died laughing at the response. "Come on, Ruby," she blurted through the guffaws. "She's not making a pass, you know!"

Ruby came to a sudden halt away from the group, facing the wall with her fists balled up tightly. In addition to fear of Yang's reaction, this was the other reason Ruby had never put herself on the dating scene at Beacon. Teasing and laughter from girls her own age she could handle, but from older girls? Girls she very much admired and looked up to, which included all five of her female classmates in Jaune's team and her own? Who moved so confidently and were shaped so lovely? Even this gentle prick from Nora twisted her stomach painfully.

"What … what did I…?" stammered Pyrrha in shock, before it clicked in her head. "But you told me 'no way' in the meeting!" she protested.

"No, Pyrrha," stated Ruby in a terribly strained, anxious voice. She was not enjoying this conversation at all. "I didn't say 'no way', I said 'go away'. You were about to expose me more obviously than Miltiades and Weiss just had!"

"Ohhh," exhaled Pyrrha softly, before she gave Ruby an admonishing look that came through in her voice. "Sorry, Ruby, but this is serious. Why are you playing games?"

"This isn't playing games!" snapped Ruby, still not turning around as she rubbed at her face. "Damn you, Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha recoiled at the uncharacteristic outburst. "What do you mean, Ruby?"

"It's how I deal with stress, okay?" she said back quietly, her voice pained. "Do you understand? Dating and … look, and the rest of it! It's how I cope when everything is going totally wrong, and I'm going out of my mind, and I'm _stressed_. You don't even understand how badly I'm stressed, Pyrrha," she said weakly, dropping her head into her hand.

"Just calm down, Ruby, okay? I'm not attacking you," promised Pyrrha. "There's no need to be that stressed."

"Of course there is!" snapped Ruby as she threw up her arms, her head a complete muddle.

"Why?" asked Pyrrha softly.

"Because Weiss didn't kill anyone, _I did_!" snapped the young leader as she turned around to glare with fiery eyes at the older girl. Frustration flared up into anger.

The dark haired girl had known before she stepped foot in this room that this confession would have to happen. The truth would come eventually so she couldn't risk the lie. As the saying went, it wasn't the crime that got you, it was the cover up. Of course, she had imagined the admission being more thoughtfully delivered than this muddled mess. Ruby cursed both herself and Miltia fiercely.

"You … what?" blurted Pyrrha, blinking in shock as her mind tried to process her broken expectations. "No way; are you trying to cover for Weiss?"

"No. I'm not," insisted Ruby firmly.

"What, seriously?" said Nora as she straightened up and lost some of her playfulness.

"Okay... Look, Ruby, come back here and sit down," asked Pyrrha. "Just talk to us. Help us understand."

Jaune's expression was horrified. He cast about as if expecting secret cameras and a comedy show host. Surely this was a prank on poor, naive Jaune? "You _killed_ someone?" he hissed in disbelief. "Uh, what!? Why am I the only one freaking out here?!"

"Two someones," confirmed Ruby with a resigned sigh. "At least two. Possibly others but I don't think so." She looked at Pyrrha and frowned. "Weiss' survived; she had one of them at her mercy but let her live."

"What about you?" asked Pyrrha out of concern.

"Eh?" said Ruby with a frown.

Pyrrha opened her mouth to reply directly, but paused before she spoke, and decided to try a more constructive approach. "I'll tell you something I told Melanie recently," she said softly as she moved to eye-level with Ruby. "When I was competing in the Mistral Regional one year, there was a tragic accident. A boy in the under-age competitions had his aura break when a referee didn't call a match in time, and so he was wounded. Like what happened when you broke Miltia's aura. This time, however, it didn't end so well."

Ruby grimaced and nodded. "An accidental kill?"

"Yes, his heart was ruptured, you see," explained Pyrrha. "I'm told the boy had bled out even before they had cleared all of us students from the room, though we only knew later. Auras are great, but not infallible, as much as I wish they were. So I'm not jumping to conclusions here, Ruby. I want you to know that I'm asking and not pre-judging you." Pyrrha forced herself not to glance at Jaune. Although she had admitted to Melanie that hers was the hand that launched the fateful blow of her story, she didn't want to admit that before Jaune given how he was reacting.

The younger girl rested her hands on her knees and sighed. "You want to know if they died by accident when their auras broke, or if I knocked them out and then put a finishing tap on them? We both know those are the two most common ways for a fatal end to a street fight, Pyrrha. But it wasn't what happened yesterday."

Jaune coughed intensely. "Uh, guys, are we seriously just quibbling about the fine print? People are dead."

"Jaune, not now," said Ren quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the girl in red and added, "So what happened?"

Ruby tried to calm herself, taking big, slow, deep breaths and went through the battle, speaking honestly as she could. Jaune was silent with horror. But all of them almost fell over when she explained the powerful blows that had done the deadly deeds.

"You managed fatal one-shots on _two_ trained adults?" asked Ren as his calm shattered into a slurry of horrified awe.

"But Ruby, that was cowardly!" admonished Pyrrha as she folded her arms. "Skulking on a rooftop, ambushing people. That's cowardly. I expected better of you!"

"It was seven to one against Weiss," replied Ruby, aghast. "It wasn't the time to fight by the Mistral tournament codes. Please, Pyrrha, if I had just gone down and announced myself, it would have been two students versus three Hunter-grade agents and four goons. Would you like to go tell Yang that I should have risked my life like that? To give Weiss' assassins a fair and reasonable chance to kill me too?"

Pyrrha hesitated, but after a moment tried again with, "If you want to join the dance with society girls then-"

"Ehhh!? We weren't; you saw us! We were out buying boardgames," protested Ruby, all but tearing her hair out. She knew she had to get this right, and get it right now. If she screwed up, she could lose some of her best friends at Beacon, and expose herself to peer punishments. The pressure of it was crushing. "Dance, Grind, whatever! I'm not in it, Weiss isn't in it. We're just students at the moment, but they didn't care about that! This wasn't what people like us are used to in the Grind, Pyrrha. They weren't there to enjoy a duel, or even just to beat the snot out of her and move on. They wanted to _murder_ Weiss for a political statement; an assassination! Someone had to die yesterday, and Weiss means too much to me to risk it being her!"

"Mother of Grimm," muttered Jaune, standing up and walking off to sit on one of the beds and try to think it over.

"This is the whole truth, Ruby?" demanded Pyrrha sternly, her piercing eyes sizing up Ruby like a duellist.

'_Only because the whole story would get out anyway_,' thought Ruby bitterly. But outwardly she tried to look as earnest as she could and said, "It is, honest!"

For several tense moments, Team JNPR parsed Ruby's claims. She had made no effort to hide that her scythe had claimed two lives. No one bar Weiss could gainsay her explanation though. In the end, the question came down to one of trust. Pyrrha Nikos was first to arrive at the inevitable result.

"It doesn't seem like something a rights group would do ... to try to assassinate someone just because they happen to be the Schnee heiress," said Pyrrha hesitantly. "But you're my friend, so I'll trust you."

When Ruby heard the words friend and trust, they bounced around reassuringly in her head, and she sighed in relief. She walked to the side of the bed by Pyrrha and let herself fall back on it with a great 'whump' noise. With at least part of that great weight off her shoulders, Ruby sighed and tried to relax ever so slightly, until Nora loomed into view above her, looking down with a sympathetic expression.

"Gah!" startled Ruby.

Nora searched the girl's face, her normal smiles gone. "You poor thing; I hope I'm never in that position."

"Are we seriously just ignoring the fact Ruby just confessed to violently killing two people?" exploded Jaune in confused frustration.

Ruby sat up but before she could protest, Nora put a forestalling hand to the girl's collar, getting a surprised squeak out of her. "Easy there," she said, before turning to Pyrrha, who nodded, taking over the case.

"We're not ignoring it, Jaune," she said softly. "None of us are happy about this. Ruby knows she's raised a lot of question marks about herself." Pyrrha looked back at Ruby. "She knows this isn't over. We'll have to take this to Melanie's team as well."

"If not Police, why aren't we calling the headmaster, or Glynda, to let them make a decision?" asked Jaune. "People dying is _serious_."

Again Ruby tried to speak in her own defence, but Nora stymied her again. "Just wait," she whispered to the wide-eyed, shivering girl, before turning around again. "Pyrrha knows the score."

The Amazon went to Jaune's side and whispered to him urgently, saying, "Jaune, if you have any regard, any trust for me, stay silent now and let me explain after Ruby leaves. You are bringing a civilian mindset to this. Hunter society doesn't work that way. We are _not_ ignoring this and we know people dying is serious. Please, trust me to explain how things work here, Jaune."

Jaune looked at her with large, fearful eyes. "Are you serious?" When Pyrrha nodded he swore he felt faint. "You're explaining this _as soon_ as Ruby leaves, okay? And if I don't like this explanation, I'm making calls."

"Thank you, Jaune," said the girl earnestly. Pyrrha stood up and walked back to sit next to Ruby again, this time with a chaste space between them. Behind her Jaune looked away, a thousand miles distant as he mulled over what his partner had said.

"So it'll be Melanie instead of Glynda to deal with me?" asked Ruby dryly.

"You're safe," reassured Pyrrha, even as she thought to herself, '_Today, anyway. If we find out you were lying to us, then we'll see_.'

"We'll tell Melanie's team tomorrow evening," continued Pyrrha. "But when it happens, I'll do the talking. I know how to talk to Melanie and I think I can keep her from anything dramatic. Hopefully no three-am knocks on the door." Ruby nodded in acceptance and seemed to relax a little.

"So now you can just chill a bit and not be stressed, right?" suggested Nora.

"Sure, not stressed, right," replied Ruby, not agreeing in the slightest. Before she could stop herself she shot Pyrrha a furious gaze, making the girl rear back in shock. "I still can't believe you said I was just playing games and it wasn't serious. Both of these things are deadly-serious to me."

"Sorry," apologised Pyrrha reflexively through a frown.

"This is something I've kept from Yang since my first year at Signal, and in the space of a week it's blowing up in my face," complained Ruby in frustration. "I've had three calamities this week. I hurt Miltia, got myself chewed out by Ozpin while making enemies of my new classmates; I had Weiss and Miltia combine to effectively out me as a lesbian in a room with my sister and closest friends; and then I had to fight for my life against a White Fang trigger team. This has turned into the topsy-turviest week of my _life_."

Facing Pyrrha as she was, Ruby didn't notice Nora frown and cock her head curiously as it occurred to her that the girl had only mentioned the fight, not the deaths, as a calamity.

"Ruby, why are you even hiding from your sister?" asked Jaune tiredly from across the way. But the visiting team leader just shook her head, refusing to say more about so private an issue.

Pyrrha sighed and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You need to tell her, soon. For better or worse, it's not a secret anymore."

"Believe me, I know," muttered the girl. "Stupid Miltia. Stupid stinger-thieves." Ruby glanced around and then shook her head, getting to her feet. "You guys have a game to get back to, I should let you get on with that," she said hurriedly, suddenly anxious to be out of there. She could feel walls closing in on her. '_Hang on, didn't I shut that door when I came in here?_' she thought to herself in surprise.

"Ruby," called out Jaune just before Ruby reached the door. "Thanks for being honest with us about the fight," he said when she stopped to look at him. "I know you were acting in self-defence. I appreciate having trustworthy friends like you."

The girl gave him a winning smile as she left, while inwardly she laughed sickly, nauseous at how little she felt she deserved those kind words. Without turning back she closed the door behind her, and began to walk down the hall.

Jaune turned to Pyrrha and folded her arms. "Okay, I want those answers _now_."

* * *

><p>Yang was leaning against the wall of the hallway, on the hinge side of the Juniper dorm's door, tossing up emotions in her head. There was pride, of course. Her sister had deftly plotted the course to keep Jaune's team on her side. It was by no means the end of it, though. Who knew what sort of reaction they would get from Melanie and her team. It could still take a terrible turn, and this transgression had been neither forgiven, nor forgotten, even by Pyrrha. But Yang felt her sister could go to sleep that night without fear.<p>

But beyond the pride there was also pain, frustration, maybe even a hint of betrayal. It was infuriating that the two girls had allowed themselves to get caught like they had, such that Ruby was forced to such extreme measures. But the worst of the turmoil came from inside. How long had Ruby been hiding her orientation? She could tell that Weiss knew the answer by how the heiress no longer met her eyes. Blake had guessed right for their bet, but she had none of the details.

The door opened and Ruby walked out swiftly, well and truly lost in her own head as she closed the door behind her. She began to walk down the hallway, not looking back to see her sister.

"You did well in there, sis," called out Yang with a small smile. "A real bacon saving job."

At Yang's voice, Ruby stopped so stiffly that she may as well have been frozen into place by one of Weiss's ice formations.

"I mean," continued Yang. "They're not happy, but who is? It's a dog of a situation."

Weiss, who was just beside Yang, cleared her throat and added, "You helped keep them off my case too. I know a lot of people will be looking at me as suspiciously as Pyrrha was. I appreciate you sticking up for me."

Ruby took a long moment, and then with aching slowness, turned around to face them. Her face was smiling, but completely unreadable. "Well, of course," she said in a bright, cheerful tone that Yang could tell was forced. "Team Ruby sticks together."

Heartbeats passed by in the silence of the hallway. Yang thought about hiding, pretending she hadn't heard the rest of the conversation. But that would be the easy way out, and her sister had already been hiding long enough for both of them.

"I … I don't care that you didn't tell me," she said earnestly. "We're family, forever. Don't hide from me."

Ruby was stricken, her smile dying on her face as she confronted the fact that the cat was never going back in the bag now. "Do you mean that, Yang?" she asked softly.

"Of course I mean that," insisted Yang.

The younger girl ran her hands over her face and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Yang, I always wanted to tell you eventually … But hiding it from you became this thing, and then I had to hide the thing, too, because how could I explain why I hid it in the first place...," she tried to explain miserably, fumbling over her words awkwardly. When her big sister took a step in her direction, she shook her head. "I'm a terrible sister," she confessed, and then disappeared in a cloud of petals.

"R-Ruby!" stammered Yang in frustration. "Oh, Mother of Grimm! Come on, let's go find her. Blake, you're fastest, go straight to the cookie vendor at the cafeteria, that's our best bet."

* * *

><p>"Jaune, you don't put a friend in danger with the faculty unless you think they're so far off the rails they need to be stopped hard," explained Pyrrha insistently. "Punishments for Hunters, by Hunters, tend to be pretty straight and to the point."<p>

The two students had recused themselves to the roof where they did their training, and sat with their backs to the wall, far from the ledge. Pyrrha had lived her whole life as a warrior student, always aiming for the ultimate prize of becoming a Hunter. The norms and unwritten laws that governed her kind were inculcated in her deeply, just as they were in all of the combat school veterans of their class. Jaune, Weiss, the Malachites, and Blake were the notable exceptions, but even among those, the girls all came from backgrounds with similar customs. All except Jaune Arc, the civilian infiltrator, who had stole his way into Beacon.

Jaune cocked an eyebrow as he loosened his limbs, sword swishing side to side theatrically. "I'm not saying she did anything wrong. She said it was self defense, and I believe her. But we still need to take this to Ozpin because, self-defense or not, Ruby still_ killed _two people."

"Jaune, this is what I meant when I said civilian mindset," said Pyrrha patiently as she stretched before drawing Milo from over her shoulder. With a careful flick of her wrist, the weapon shifted with whisper-quiet efficiency into the short-sword transform. She adopted a one-handed high forward guard with no embellishment, just intelligent and cultured efficacy.

"But I'm not a Huntsman," answered Jaune with a jabbing index finger for emphasis. "And you're not a Huntress yet." Jaune paused and held up his hands in frustration, careful not to fillet himself with Crocea Mors. "We're… we're just _students_, Pyrrha. I don't understand why we aren't telling someone in authority about this; I didn't understand it yesterday when we saw the fight, and I don't understand it today."

"Because we are Ruby's peers and we have to manage this as a class group. We are expected to self-police and self-manage," stated Pyrrha sternly, before she struck. Her copper-hued steel chopped in at the body, forcing Jaune to parry. When he did not offer a riposte she frowned and spoke, "You don't understand the implications if we throw her to the faculty, this isn't like in the civilian world where you report a crime or an incident. Just trust us, Jaune; the faculty _expects_ a certain amount of … let's call it 'homework', from their students," explained Pyrrha, her words rocking the young team leader back onto his haunches.

"That's crazy, you can't be serious that Beacon is okay with their students risking their necks in Vale?" spluttered Jaune in disbelief.

"Jaune, your initiation involved being launched off a cliff and being left to find your own way to land safely in a forest, surrounded by Grimm, with no aid from the Professors," pointed out Pyrrha. "They're fine with us risking our necks without backup everywhere else, why would Vale be any different?"

"Yeah, but…," objected Jaune before he fell silent.

Pyrrha grunted softly to herself, then breathed in deeply. '_Patience, Pyrrha_,' she counselled herself. She struck again, hacking in at her partner, a series of blows this time, the razor sharp edge of Milo menacing Jaune's flesh. Within a few panicky defensive swipes, the blonde boy's defence was unlocked and the girl struck him, shouldering in and reverse thrusting sharply into his midriff. Aura flashed, taking the blow safely.

As Jaune staggered she retreated subtly and used her free hand to gesture him onward. "Your turn now, Jaune," she ordered. The boy swung wildly, but shallowly. Pyrrha frowned as she easily turned him aside with the flat of her blade and stepped out, thrusting at his face. He got his shield up in time and steel met steel with a clamour. His sword swung out again, a much more sure and steady slash this time. It was well-caught on the flat of the girl's blade again, braced against her forearm, and again she went straight into a counter-attack, pushing Jaune back again. When he attacked again he thrust straight out at her, but his footwork failed to close the distance. Smiling wryly, Pyrrha span past the blade, leapt up and planted one foot on Jaune's shield, somersaulting over him and smiting the back of his head as she passed him.

The young man fell forward, seeing stars as he he plowed into the tiling. His aura took a deep hit from the blow, despite being delivered at merely half-power by his tutor. When he had first started to fight, he had left himself wide open constantly in his rush to attack. At first Pyrrha had believed that it was reckless courage. Later she realised it was simply a complete unfamiliarity with his sword. When he eventually realised how dreadfully open he was leaving himself, he had begun to clam up, leaving Pyrrha with the task of drawing him back out of his shell. A big part of his problem was that he had to be in the right, properly angry mood for battle. He needed to develop the instinct to fight closer to his foe, to swing for the body rather than swing to clash swords.

"Look, more than aura and semblances, Jaune," admonished Pyrrha. "This headspace is where you need to change to become a Huntsman, and a leader. You grew up in a world where you were a good citizen, you went to school, you studied for a trade, your parents paid their taxes. If something happened, you called a police officer who came and helped you out, and the state helped house and feed you."

"Of course," said Jaune with a deep frown.

"You aren't in that world anymore," explained Pyrrha, urging him to understand. "You aren't that worker bee anymore, Jaune!"

Pyrrha moved in swiftly, forcing the distance where her short sword could land solid hits, inside Jaune's guard. However much she encouraged him, there was still so far he had to go. He had to learn to trust his aura, to not fear the kiss of steel. Even when he attacked Pyrrha, he went too shallowly, as if he was afraid to hit her. So she struck with liquid grace, moved by her cunning and talent. She showed Jaune far more of her arsenal than usual as she broke his guard casually and struck his legs.

She lectured as she attacked, punctuating each point with swashing blows that rattled the young man. Her hands were treacherous and deceitful, her wrists flicking to and fro, driving Milo's steel upon him from unexpected angles. Small biting blows built up on him, burning through his aura slowly but steadily. But with each stroke that did not kill him, she knew that she was inculcating a familiarity with hitting and being hit.

"You don't pay your taxes, you don't learn a trade, you don't have a helpful police officer to come pat you on the head," she taught as she fought. "The best of the police come from the kids who scraped through the combat middle schools, but many don't even have auras. If you went to one now they would laugh and tell you that if you can't figure it out, what hope have they got? Ruby is a trainee Huntress with an aura and expert training. As her classmates we _are_ the authorities to go to for this issue!"

Jaune lost his footing and had to dive to the side, rolling and scrambling. Pyrrha stalked around, weapon eveready in her grip. The blonde boy forced himself back to his feet, asking, "Then what is the faculty supposed to be, chopped liver?" He was amazed at what he was hearing and beginning to realise the real difference between himself and his combat school alumni teammates.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes and moved in again, charging her partner in a rush. At the last moment, just as Jaune swung at her, she side-stepped to the outside and sprang upon the wall. Her body twisted in the air as she went by to swat him about the head. Jaune staggered and turned to raise his shield as he saw Milo expand into its javelin form in an underarm grip . With a loud bang it rocketed into his thigh, knocking him down to one knee, even as the weapon bounced back to Pyrrha's hand with the aid of Polarity. Now held high she fired Milo into him again and it careened into his sternum, bowling him over.

"Oh, come on," wailed Jaune as he lay on his back. He fell deathly silent as he heard the soft click of Pyrrha's heels getting closer. She stood over him, looking down in judgement like a figure of myth and terror. He gulped as the tip of the weapon, now back as a short sword, tapped his sternum.

"To borrow from your old life, Jaune, when it comes to things that happen off-campus, a Huntresses' police are her peers," lectured Pyrrha in a quiet and grim voice. "Her judge and jury are her classmates. And her executioner is the faculty. You do not go to them unless something is simply beyond your ability to handle, and fatalities in a battle with the White Fang is not beyond us." She glanced up at the blue midday sky and sighed. "So you probably actually scared poor Ruby out of her wits by talking about authorities like that. She thinks you know the score, Jaune, so she won't understand why you're trying to get her in serious trouble."

Jaune fixed his partner with about as serious a look as she had seen from him since joining Beacon. That it came as he lay on his back looking up at her spoke volumes. "There are times, Pyrrha, when you all scare me. A lot. But you know this system, so we'll play it your way." It took a lot for Jaune to let go. But they both knew that as the infiltrator he was the fish out of water here, and needed to trust her in this just as he trusted her in battle. Pyrrha stood up to leave, holding out a hand for Jaune to take. "Just how much have you been holding back on me in our training? You kicked my ass there."

"I wanted to teach you to trust your aura more, Jaune," replied Pyrrha. "It's not second nature to you, I know, but you need to understand how the aura, and the way it protects us from harm when we fight for as long as it lasts, affects the way Hunters learn. You still fight me like you expect an errant blow to kill me," she complained. "You have to understand, I have an aura, too," she admonished, before reversing the grip on her sword and driving it into her own chest.

Jaune cried out in shock and dismay, recoiling in horror as Pyrrha stabbed herself. But just as the girl had said, she had an aura and it protected her admirably. "Please don't do that again, Pyrrha," he pleaded, even as the potent object lesson began to sink in.

"If you learn what I'm telling you, I won't have to," she replied. "You swing shallowly, like you're scared to hurt, or be hurt, instead of closing in to where you can be effective. You have to _commit_ yourself to the fight, Jaune. Not recklessly, but willfully. We'll be sparring tomorrow, and you'll almost certainly have to fight someone."

The blonde student shook his head in bewilderment. "So, what happens after you talk to Melanie?"

"We'll talk it over with Melanie and someone from Ruby's team. Probably Blake," explained Pyrrha as she helped Jaune up. "There's a … range of ways to go. On one end you have a lecture, or forcing her to give something up as a good behaviour bond."

"And on the other end?" asked Jaune when Pyrrha fell silent.

Pyrrha glanced back at her partner just before she was to disappear through the door. "Wait a month and ask me again; I don't think you're ready just yet."

* * *

><p>"So this is where you guys disappear to at lunch times," observed Alice, looking out over the campus from their lofty perch. It was a beautiful, temperate day outside and the fresh air was a joy for the young heiress.<p>

"Yeah, our little hideaway. It's tricky to get to, but its nice and peaceful," said Melanie.

The four teammates and their guest munched away amiably as they watched sea birds gracefully fly past. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, the appropriate culmination to a lazy weekend. It was the first time Alice had been invited up, and she suspected it was a reward for having provided the duel footage, which had been the talk of the group since that morning. All the MAVM girls had been buzzing about it, and Alice had been impressed by how well Melanie had understood India and his technique, as well as some of the subtleties surrounding the duel that outsiders wouldn't have guessed at.

"Another weekend almost done," sighed Aurea. "But it-"

"_Miltiades Malachite!_" echoed a girl's voice from the ground below. "Get down here right now!"

The five students on the roof froze in consternation and then rushed to look over the fence to identify the abrupt disruption to their calm. Standing upon the paved skirting of the building, looking up at them with her arms crossed under her chest, and foot tapping angrily, was one Ruby Rose. And she looked absolutely furious.

Miltia recoiled from the wall. "Oh, crap!" she blurted out, getting a laugh from Aurea.

"What did you do to get her so riled up?" asked Alice in surprise, glancing between the girl below in white and red, and her friend.

Ruby yelled again, "I saw you, Miltia, I know you're up there!"

"Don't freak out, Miltia," said Velvet with a lopsided grin. "She's unarmed. You probably won't die."

"Guys…," tried Alice again hesitantly.

Melanie looked between Alice, Miltia and Ruby and cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't mention to Alice that you repaid Weiss pushing you out of the closet by turning around and returning the favour for Ruby?"

Alice's eyes went wide with horror. "Millie!" she gasped.

Miltiades looked ashen faced, scuffing at the ground as she muttered, "I know, I know; I shouldn't have done it. I'm not proud of myself for how I reacted."

Both Melanie and Alice opened their mouths to reply, but a loud blast of wind and a flurry of rose petals whipped through their rooftop shelter. When they turned they saw Ruby floating back down to land gracefully on the lip of the roof, pleats and hair fluttering wildly.

"Ruby, you're not wearing a combat skirt, you can't just pull stunts like that," admonished Melanie reflexively. Despite her rebuke, she was amazed by Ruby's precise control over her semblance. Four stories up and she landed on a dime.

"You!" said Ruby, pointing right at Miltia. "I need to yell at you! … I mean talk to you, I need to talk to you," she amended. "Now."

Although Miltia was pretty pale to begin with, she got noticeably whiter as she looked past the fingertip at Ruby's silver eyes. "O-Oh? Really?" she asked nervously, hands up in front of her.

"Yes, really," snapped Ruby.

"Miltia, get over here," demanded Alice. "You're armed, for pity's sake, don't stand there like you expect her to eat you." With a sigh, Miltia straightened her shoulders and walked up to within arm's length of Ruby. "Good, now, what…, R-Ruby!?"

Ruby reached out and grabbed Miltia. She pulled the girl flush against her, face to face, and then violently threw herself backwards, and together they fell off the roof.

"_Miltia!_" yellled four girls as they watched their classmate disappear over the ledge, and they all rushed to look over.

Another loud blast of air could be heard as Ruby kicked her Semblance in hard. Miltia and herself rocketed out from the side of the building out into the open space, landing softly to stand in the middle of the field. The girls left behind on the rooftop exchanged shocked looks.

"Like, who does she think she is!?" exclaimed Melanie.

"Can you hear them, Velvet?" asked Alice quickly.

"No, Ruby made sure to take her beyond even faunus earshot," replied Velvet. "She's not a girl to repeat mistakes."

"...can we activate her scroll's radio function?" asked Aurea slyly.

Melanie fixed her partner with a look, then pulled her own scroll out. "You, Aurea, have the mind of a criminal. I like it."

* * *

><p>Ruby and Miltia each took a half-step back, opening up a little space between them as they came to a stop. The older girl blinked and looked back and forth between the building she had just been standing atop and the grass beneath her.<p>

"Oh my god," she whispered, her emerald eyes lit up brightly. As mind-bendingly terrifying as the trip had been, it was also exhilarating. The wind had whipped through her hair and the ground raced up at her, seemingly fated to crash, just before Ruby used her semblance in retro to bring them down softly.

The other girl only had eyes for her, however. Ruby was visibly an emotional wreck, trying to figure out what she wanted to say, her carefully prepared tirade having disappeared from her mind as she stood face to face with the older girl. "Miltia, I…," she began fumblingly.

"Stop," said Miltia, turning to face her and holding up a hand. "Just a moment to catch my breath," she asked. It was more than the trip that was making her head spin; being pulled in nose to nose, Ruby's arms wrapped tight around her, had been seriously unexpected contact. "You're much stronger than you look," she noted softly.

Ruby said nothing as she watched Miltia impatiently. A faint 'click' could be heard, but neither girl paid it any heed.

"I know I screwed up, Ruby," admitted the older girl. "I was furious with Weiss, and I couldn't hurt her, so I hurt you instead. That was terrible of me." Ruby bit her lip as Miltia anticipated exactly what she was there about. "I shouldn't have done it," said Miltia as she looked down, embarrassed by her actions. "I don't think you should have thrown me off a building for it, though."

The early admission took the wind out of the silver-eyed girl's sails. She stood there a moment before muttering in protest, "I didn't _throw_ you off the building. ...Okay, well, I kinda did." She folded her arms defensively. "Yang found out. She's been the person I had been trying to hide this from, all this time, and she knows now. Because of you."

"You were hiding it from your sister?" asked Miltia with a little Mona Lisa smile. "Ah, well, that I think I can understand. Just between me and you, if I could make one person forget what I am, it's probably Melanie. I know she tries to be understanding. She probably even thinks she manages it. But Mel gets weirded out by me sometimes. She can't help it, but it makes it awkward for me. Awkward and sometimes painful."

"That sucks," said Ruby with a sympathetic frown. "Miltia, I know that Weiss was being … well, she was being a real cow at the meeting. I couldn't believe she went that far. And I chewed her out for it afterwards, honest. But I hadn't come out to anyone here; you at least were open, and accepted, with your old team and class and you have a girlfriend-"

"Friend with benefits," corrected Miltia reflexively. "... a _lot_ of benefits, fairly exclusively. Who lets me keep clothes in her wardrobe and … fuck, I don't know. It's complicated," she admitted finally. '_And by complicated, I mean commitment-phobe_,' she admitted to herself morosely.

Ruby gave her an odd look before proceeding. "Okay..., But still, you were doing okay for yourself, you just, I think, wanted to find out what the rest of your classmates were like before you came out."

"If you hadn't come out, how did Weiss know?" asked Miltia. The further she was getting from her abrupt abduction from the rooftop, the more her confidence was returning, and the more comfortable she began to feel, toe to toe with the younger student.

"Same way she found out about you," shrugged Ruby awkwardly. "Gossipping with society girls."

"Typical," said Miltia darkly. "I know which vixen sold me out; what about you?"

"Yeah, old girlfriend named Viridia," sighed Ruby, grimacing. "So Alice confessed to you?"

Miltia's eyes went wide. "She told you that? Yeah, she confessed. I still can't believe she told Weiss of all people. I wonder how they knew each other." When Ruby just nodded back at her, Miltia put her hands on her hips. "Ah, that vixen! I will make her pay for all this," she warned, unaware that the girl she was threatening was currently listening in with her ears burning.

"So, Weiss knew about us both," explained Ruby. "But she hadn't revealed that she knew about me, okay? I didn't know. All the mean stuff that went down in that meeting started behind my back. It wasn't fair to you. But you didn't have to take it all back out on me!"

The young woman silently watched the powerful, resilient girl struggle hard with the emotion coursing through her. The more Ruby weakened through confusion, the more Miltia's confidence grew. "Weiss did what she did to protect you," explained Miltia at last. "So when I lashed out, I wanted to undermine what she was trying to do." She swayed in close to Ruby, looming as she looked the girl in the eye. "I don't like being pushed into the spotlight, Ruby. I don't like being trapped," she warned as her hands came up to rest on Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby swallowed, resting her hands on the smooth swell of her hips. "That didn't make it right, Miltia," she protested.

"Do you really want to stand here and lecture me that having a reason for something doesn't mean it's right to do it? You, little blood-spattered angel?" she asked smokily. The girl was silent and tense. Miltia reached up and brushed her fingers curiously across Ruby's cheek. Ruby's eyes lit up in alarm at the escalation from Miltia, and again as the older girl said, "I'm not going to say I'm sorry, you know."

"But you are sorry, aren't you," said Ruby intensely. "You are sorry."

Ruby didn't know why Miltia intimidated her. She knew that in terms of a capacity for violence, it wasn't even a contest. She absolutely terrified the green-eyed girl when she had Crescent Rose to hand. But just as soon as that violence stopped being part of the conversation, the girl seemed to get in her head. There was no elaborate, lace-ridden outfit, oozing sensuality, moulded to the older girl's lovely figure to explain the befuddlement this time. Shorts and a t-shirt were very plain fare. Miltiades' confidence and arrogance just held sway over Ruby.

Miltia just smiled. "So does everyone know now, or just your sister?"

Ruby squirmed and admitted, "Everyone in my team and Jaune's. If you've told your team, then I guess your girls, too."

"They know," said Miltia airly, running a fingernail down Ruby's cheek.

"Don't toy with me, Miltia!" hissed Ruby as she leaned away from the fingernail. "I know you don't like me, so don't try and play with my head!" Despite her protest, she didn't push away Miltia's hand.

"Did you get what you came here for?" asked Miltia casually, letting her hand drop, though not without brushing against the girl on its way down.

"Yes and no," said Ruby quietly.

"Do you even know what you came here for?" asked Miltia. She leaned in just a little closer, lips curled. "Or were you hoping that I'd be able to figure it out for you?"

Ruby glared at her and stepped into her again, close enough to feel her heat, her hand laying hold of the older girl's arm. "Don't _toy with me_," she warned again.

"Are you going to fly me back up?" asked Miltia. "Only fair, since you carried me off." The silver-eyed girl said nothing, just breathing steadily and staring at her. "Hmm, if Weiss found out by talking to one of your exes, then you've clearly already been on the dating scene a bit," mused the older girl. "Pity, I think it would have been interesting to be your first."

Ruby snapped and her hands went to Miltia's collar, bunching up great fistfuls of the cloth. "I said, stop toying with me!" She held the girl tight against herself, body to body.

The sultry older girl smiled wickedly. "Go on, little minx, kiss me," she taunted. "That's why you really came straight to me, isn't it? I hurt you, and you wanted me to make it better. Alice and me are the only two lesbians you know here, so where else were you going to turn?" Heartbeats passed and as she saw the dangerous light in Ruby's eyes she became ever so grateful that the girl had come without Crescent Rose. "You know I'm right."

"Oooh!" hissed Ruby before she gave Miltia an almighty shove that sent the older girl tumbling back over the grass. "You can find your own way back to the roof!" she snapped before storming off.

Miltia sat up, propped up on her arms, and watched Ruby stalk off. But after she took a few steps, the younger girl stopped and sighed. She looked over her shoulder and complained, "I know people say you're the more timid one between you and your sister, but you are so arrogant when it comes to other girls."

"Ruby, go call one of your exes at Signal," said Miltia quietly. "I can tell you're craving a good petting session, because you're a total fucking mess at the moment. And since our friends would kill us both if I gave it to you, go back to what you know."

The silver-eyed girl rolled her eyes and walked off with her cheeks flushed crimson. It was bad enough having to listen to what Militia had said. But it was far worse to think she might be right.

* * *

><p>Despite sending Blake to the cafeteria with the intent of getting herself one on one with Weiss, Yang's plan had not worked particularly well. For one thing, Weiss had promptly deduced Yang's intent and immediately shot off with the aid of her Glyphs. A taxing interrogation was exactly what Weiss didn't want at that point in time and she was not about to let herself be left alone with the blonde brawler.<p>

When she found herself unable to track down either of Ruby or Weiss, the discouraged big sister sent Blake a message to check where she was, and then went off to the cafeteria to meet her. She found the mysterious girl discretely placed at a table that let her face Ruby's favourite vending machine; the cookie vendor, which distributed large, plastic-wrapped cookies for twenty Lien. She had a book in hand, one with a respectable looking dust cover, but Yang was willing to bet that if she saw the title page it would read something more along the lines of 'Lust & Loathing in Haven' than some more lauded work of literature.

"No sign of Dear Leader?" asked Yang as she walked up behind Blake and sat down next to her, causing the girl to jump guiltily and close her book.

"No, nothing yet," replied Blake. "You're really worried about her."

"Of course I'm worried about her," answered Yang. "It must have been terrifying for them both. And she's younger and less experienced than Weiss."

"True. You know, it must be nice for Ruby, having someone looking out for her like that," said Blake with a smile. "I never had anything like that growing up."

Yang shrugged playfully, a gesture that hid a pained reaction. "I'm sure Ruby doesn't always appreciate it as much as you think she should. I guess that if she appreciated it, she wouldn't have hid this from me."

"Hiding that she's a lesbian?" checked Blake.

"Ah, you know, I can't even pretend to be surprised," admitted Yang. "Even when I made the bet I had a nagging suspicion." She looked around to make sure Ruby hadn't snuck up on them. "This is going to sound horrible, but when we went home, I actually went to look for Ruby's old diary she used to keep her in bedside table. I swore I'd never go try to read her diary, but there's just been a few too many odd things happening since that fight with Melanie's girls."

"Oh! Uh, I see," said Blake nervously.

"But it wasn't there, she must have done something with it," dismissed Yang. "It was a horrible idea, wasn't it?"

"Uh, Yang, I may…," began Blake.

"Hm?"

Blake just sighed and slipped part of the fake dust cover off of her book. "Oh my god," said Yang. "You took it? That's so…"

"Shameful?" suggested Blake with a chagrined look.

"Smart," said Yang with wide eyes and an impressed look.

"You're not mad?"

"No, I can understand why you would do it," said Yang. "And, well, depending on what's in it, it may be better for you to check it than me."

Blake glanced down to the diary, which she had only just started. "That's probably true," she said slowly.

"Oh god, what does she have written in there?" asked Yang in horror.

"Nothing that bad! Just stuff older sisters aren't meant to see," explained Blake. "Her first girlfriend, rants about people smothering her."

"I'm not going to ask…," began Yang. "But … look, drugs, booze, anything really serious on the Grind side of things?"

"Nothing for you to freak out about so far, unless you consider spending a full page two years ago talking about the lips of one Bistre Neamhainworth freaking out about," reassured Blake. "She writes about being adamantly opposed to drugs and alcohol. Most of her out of class stuff was solo-work, which is worrying, but she's obviously come through okay. She seems to put a premium on one-on-one duelling. But…," she said before trailing off. Yang looked at her expectantly. Blake opened up the book to a particular page. "Some of her pages are in code."

"A code?" asked Yang in surprise. She glanced at the page. "I'm pretty sure this is one that Qrow taught us."

"Can you read it then?" asked Blake.

"No, no," admitted Yang with a frown. "You seed the code with a particular key phrase, so although I know the system she used, it's no good without that seeding phrase."

"Your uncle sounds like an interesting man," said Blake. "Heavy Scythe experts are few and far between, plus he's teaching his nieces cryptography?"

"Oh, Uncle Qrow was great; mysterious, clever, strong," described Yang. "When dad was grieving…." Yang stopped, looking down for a moment. "Well, whenever Dad couldn't be there, Qrow would be there for us. Ruby was his favourite though, once she chose to take up the scythe."

Blake noted that of her mother, Yang said nothing, but it wasn't in her nature to press the issue. "And she also had her big sister looking out for her."

"As much as I was able," replied Yang with what seemed like a cheerful smile. But Blake could tell there was sadness and regret hidden behind that facade, and she reached out and put a hand atop the blonde girl's own.

"Why do you look like that?" asked the dark-haired girl, to which Yang recoiled in surprise. "I know you, Yang, you aren't fooling me with that smile."

Yang still smiled, but it was an affectionate one, directed at Blake herself. "Aw, Blake, you care for me," she said with an earnest look. "I've always felt, I guess, that Ruby deserved more from me. I got caught up in my own business as I went through Signal. So did Ruby. I couldn't look out for her as much as I should have. So I guess when I did get the chance to be the big sister, I went too hard."

"Yang…," said Blake, turning the name into a gentle admonishment. "Don't talk yourself down. Everything I've seen here at Beacon tells me you're a wonderful sister. You're big-hearted, you're kind, you're fun, you're open-minded and pro-equality…," she listed off earnestly, before trailing off for a moment. "Yang, sometimes I wish you were…"

Silence hung in the air between them for several heartbeats.

"A guy?" finished Yang, with another smile that seemed so warm, yet upon which Blake could see sadness sit like snap-frost. "That's so sweet."

'_No_,_ I wish you were faunus_,' thought Blake, before saying, "No, not that… Look, forget I said anything," she protested, holding up her hands. Her cheeks were beginning to turn red.

Yang was like a shark coming across a sunken blood bank, grinning toothily. "Oh! Oh, I see. C'mon, you want me, babe," she claimed boldly.

"Would you stop teasing me?" asked Blake, folding her arms across her chest.

"Nope."

"You oaf," said Blake, before the flash of a red hood caught her eye. She grinned thinly and tilted her head that way. Yang glanced back towards the vending machine, where one Ruby Rose was fiddling with a Lien card.

'_Gotcha; do I know my sister or what?_' thought Yang sardonically. She did note with chagrin that they should have taken up the obvious move of staking out their own dorm room, as Ruby had apparently returned for Crescent Rose. Yang stood and stretched, and Blake tucked her ill-gotten book away, and together they went to go speak to their team leader.

For all Ruby had not seemed to notice their approach, her non-reaction to Yang leaning up against vending machine suggested she had not been taken unawares. "Hey sis, hey Blake," she greeted, fishing out her plastic-wrapped chocolate-chip cookie from the machine.

"Hey sis, where ya been?" answered Yang.

Ruby looked skyward and sighed. "Yelling at Miltia," she confessed irritably. "Just … Don't ask. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Rubes…," began Yang nervously. "You know that I'm fine with this, right? I mean, I don't like that you hid it from me. But honestly, I'm fine with this. In fact, I'm happy that you've found out where your heart lies, and that you've followed it." Ruby looked up at her with a totally unreadable expression, her silver eyes sparkling. "I just wish I could have played a part in your journey." Ruby still said nothing, and Blake was intent on letting the two sisters have their moment undisturbed. "I mean, honestly, my dating history has as many girls' names as boys' names. I could have given good advice."

"Yeah, I know, sis," asserted Ruby with a frown. "You always focused on making sure dad didn't find out about everything naughty that you did. You just assumed I was too young to cotton on."

"Then why?"

"I'll tell you outside," sighed their team leader, as she led the other two girls out the main doors of the cafeteria into a quiet nook of the courtyard, munching away at her cookie as she went.

"It was never about that," explained the silver-eyed girl when she finally came to a halt. A fierceness growing within her. "I knew you wouldn't have a problem with me having a girlfriend. I know you're bi."

"Okay. Again, why?" asked Yang.

Ruby held up her hands, trying to find the words, and then finally snapped. "Eugh, because you wanted to be like dad to me! Except it would be worse, because you wanted to be right there, protecting me. And I didn't want to be protected. I wanted to explore, to adventure. If you had known, you'd have wanted to threaten any girl I showed interest in, to punish anyone who broke my heart. Worse, you'd have thought you were being helpful!"

"But, Ruby…"

"No, no 'but, Ruby', Yang," interrupted Ruby, letting three years of pent up emotions vent in one burst. "I wanted to dare that hurt, I wanted to have my heart broken, I wanted to break hearts, I wanted to have freedom to explore what my relationships meant. The last, the very _last_ thing I could possibly have wanted was you threatening to beat the hell out of someone because they broke up with me, or were the first to get handsy, or whatever crazy big-sister thought came into your head. Even now, you're probably thinking you want to take a swing at Miltia because I said I went off to yell at her."

While Yang was speechless, Ruby breathed in deeply and finished, "I stood up for myself when I needed, I didn't let people get away with pressuring me, and I didn't pressure anyone in turn. You don't train to become a Huntress if you're scared to get hurt, if you're scared to take risks. Yang, there were a lot of things that I did at Signal that you don't know about. Not only about dating. And I want you to understand that is how it should be. I'm a big girl. I know our mothers haven't been there for us, but I never needed you to be my mother; I just need you to be my sister."

Yang folded her arms and smiled with a mixture of cheer and lament. "A big girl now, Ruby?" The blonde girl wiped away at her cheeks and nodded. "I guess you are."

* * *

><p>Miltia grumbled and muttered to herself as she climbed back up the drain pipe to the top of the roof. It wasn't too bad to climb the first time in a day, but having to repeat the dose after having been hauled off it by Ruby was a pain in the backside. Nonetheless, she had managed to work her way back to the top. She put a hand upon the concrete lip of the roof and levered herself up, looking to vault over it. But as she looked up, Alice Sgathan was leaning over the edge and looking down at her. The girl was deliberately blocking her path up.<p>

"Gah! A-Alice!?" stammered Miltia in surprise.

"You certainly turned the tables on poor Ruby," said Alice sweetly. She reached out a hand to caress the girl's cheek. "She showed up with so much spice, fire and verve, but you sent her away with flushed cheeks and even more need than when she started."

Miltia swallowed and glanced to either side of her girlfriend. Her teammates were watching her with interest. Velvet was sat on the low wall to her left, rabbit ears lolling forward casually. Aurea was sitting with her legs hanging over the side, smiling mirthfully, scroll in her hand. Melanie in her radiant green dress was propped up against her partner's back, watching Alice confront Miltia with a curious look.

"Uh, guys?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"I was quite impressed by your performance," purred Alice. "Adorable Miss Ruby started right on the front foot. Why, she even plucked you right off the roof! That must have been very unsettling. But as soon as you regained your bearings, she was putty in your hands. Strange though," she mused. "Why didn't you seal the deal, as the saying goes?"

Miltia stayed silent, glancing at each of her teammates, who seemed perfectly fine with this interrogation. "Oh my god, you were listening in, how did you possibly manage that?"

"That's a secret," said Aurea airily. "But we did hear everything. Seriously, you could have asked for Ruby's panties before you left and I bet she'd've handed them over."

"I … very much doubt that, Aurea," replied the girl in red with an unamused look. She shook her head and looked back up at her girlfriend. "For pity's sake, Alice, just let me up," she demanded.

"Alice…," interceded Velvet, putting a hand on Alice's arm.

The girl in blue and white smiled and pulled Miltia up onto the roof obligingly. When she dusted herself off after her climb Miltia turned to stand apart from the others and folded her arms. "You guys _have_ to stop this. You can't be violating my privacy like this, I don't care what reasons you think you have. If Ruby wants to talk with me, then I'll talk with her. You guys don't have the right to keep eavesdropping on me. You included, Velvet."

Velvet had the good grace to blush. "I can't help my ears, Miltia…"

Melanie took a step in her direction. "Alright, sis, we'll stop with the espionage. But I want you to level with us. We'd like you to stay away from her, but you just keep ending up near her. What's going on?"

"She ... is a very interesting girl," said Miltia slowly, immediately aware of a penetrating look from Alice. "What she seems to be, and what she is, are startlingly far apart. That fascinates me. And she is so _strong_."

Her teammates each glanced involuntarily back toward Alice, who stood there, gaze locked onto Miltiades.

"She frightens you though," pointed out Velvet.

"So does Alice," laughed Miltia. "Safe things aren't very interesting to me."

"You went halfway to seducing her, and then you sent her away. Why?" asked Alice.

"To show her that I could," said Miltia quietly. "She's an emotional wreck at the moment, and I really don't know why. There was something so much deeper than just Yang, but I don't know what. Yes, I could have talked her into bed, but I'm not…," she trailed off and glanced nervously at the other girls. "I'm not exactly hard up today. But more importantly, it would have been taking advantage of her in a vulnerable state."

"You were a fucking crim, Miltia," pointed out Aurea bluntly. "Strange to be squeamish now."

"We _are_ trying to leave that way of life behind," said Melanie quietly in an aside to Aurea.

"Not having a problem breaking the law doesn't mean I wouldn't have been uncomfortable in front of the mirror if I slept with a hopelessly muddled up younger girl," explained Miltia firmly. "I'm not that girl. I refuse to be that girl."

"Then why did you mess with her head in the first place?" asked Alice.

"She pulled me off the fucking roof and hauled me halfway across the commons," pointed out Miltia, surprised at the question. "Of course I was going to mess with her; I'm not a saint, you know. Which you'll all find out if you spy on me one more time. Anyway, I wanted her to know that I'm dangerous in my own way. I may not be able to physically threaten her, but I can give her pause like that."

"One last thing, Miltia," asked Melanie in a darkly annoyed voice. She dropped into a whisper. "Did you know that _she_," she said with a thumb jerked in Alice's direction, "Was a society girl before you started fucking her?"

"Oh yes," admitted Miltia freely. "That was half the appeal." Her sister threw up her hands and shook her head in aggravation at all the little passive ways Miltia gnawed at her.

Alice looked on silently, mind turning over angrily as her memory replayed the sight of Miltia and Ruby held so close. She hadn't enjoyed the experience in the least, and something had to be done. An alliance with Weiss, perhaps? Either way, there was a sparring class tomorrow and she intended to throw down the gauntlet to Ruby. The scion of Sgathan House was not to be trifled with. Ruby may be strong but Cheshire Silver's bite was likewise fierce.

* * *

><p>"Ah, there you are, Roman," purred a dark-haired young woman with piercing amber eyes.<p>

Roman Torchwick and his right hand girl, Neopolitan, looked up as they heard the voice. They were in the far corner of a dimly lit warehouse, filled with Dust crates, clustered around a table laden with maps. A few senior White Fang members had joined them.

"Oh, Cinder, good to see you!" greeted Roman. "And look, the kids are back! That's just splendid." He waved mockingly at Emerald and Mercury as they walked in behind the indomitable Cinder Fall. "Hey kids!"

Emerald stuck her tongue out at him, a disarmingly childish gesture from a girl who had already made bones for Cinder's organisation. Mercury said little, looking a little hangdog. It was an expression he had worn since he'd been forced to report being seen by Beacon students to Cinder.

"The White Fang have given us the name for your little friend, Red," said Cinder with an enigmatic smile, immediately taking Roman's attention by the scruff of the neck.

"Oh, really?" said Roman with interest. "I'm … surprised the White Fang had a file on her."

"They didn't, actually," said Cinder. She placed a photo of a girl in a black dress and red hood upon the table. "Rather, she was in the known associations list of someone they _did_ have a file on."

"That Schnee heiress?" guessed Roman.

"No, if you can believe it, they didn't know about that association before the two were seen together on Friday," drawled Cinder with a foreboding glance at the White Fang members in the room. "Her name is Ruby Rose. She and Weiss Schnee are students together at Beacon."

"Well isn't that just an adorable name," said Roman dryly. "I don't think I've ever met a cuter killer than that."

"Uh, excuse me," said Emerald, waving her hand meaningfully. It wasn't that she was interested in Roman's attention, but there were principles involved.

"Yeah, I've thought it over and I've definitely never met a cuter killer than that," repeated Roman, not looking in Emerald's direction, who sniffed in disgust. "She is a button, unlike a scrawny, green-haired brat I've met. So what was the link?"

"They had a file on _this _girl," explained Cinder, placing another file upon the table, this time with a photo attached by paperclip. Roman's eyes went wide with shock. "They're sisters, apparently. Ruby Rose, and Yang Xiao-Long."

"...Fascinating," said Roman in a dry murmur as he leaned over to pick up the file. "So what did the White Fang know about Blondie here?"

Cinder just smiled. "Just read on."


	9. Dancing with Ghosts

**A/N: Yeah, okay, that took way long between chapters than had been planned, sorry about that. Just about everything in here has been rewritten at least once, often two or three times and several thousand words got the cutting-room floor treatment. That said, I'm happy with the end result. Violence, indecent proposals, teetering secrets, and a love confession await within.**

**Huge thanks go out to my proofreaders (my wife, as well as Leviticus Wilkes and SLthethird). Massive amounts of work have been put into this project by them.**

**Please take the time to review, I do appreciate all feedback, and try to respond as much as I can :D**

* * *

><p>Monday morning came around eventually, as it always did, and the students had to grudgingly set aside the hair-raising events of the weekend to return their focus to the mundane. Yang sat down next to Blake on the edge of the classroom and allowed herself a great yawn, shaking out her hair as she went.<p>

"Whadya wanna bet this all ends in a bust-up between the Ice Queen and Velvet?" asked Yang with a grin. Blake rolled her eyes and rapped her partner across the knuckles, but smiled all the same. "No? Shame, would be fun to watch."

"Think of their fighting styles, Yang, they'd blow all of us bystanders up," pointed out Blake.

"Oh yeah, suppose it is a little cramped," said Yang. "Planning to take part much today?"

"I hope I don't have to," replied Blake, before tilting her head at Weiss who was sitting next to her. "It's kind of awkward."

Yang nodded and fell quiet, looking across the seats to her little sister on the far side of the team. She seemed to be holding up okay, but Yang wasn't sure. Between the fight with Miltia and slaying the White Fang, two traumatising, violent events in the space of a week had befallen her sister. It left the blonde girl with no idea what to do to help, and Ruby's apparent resilience was even more confusing. If anyone else had taken two battle kills in their stride like this, she would have assumed they had done it before. Normally she would have thought it impossible that Ruby had experience like this. But after what she overheard in JNPR's room, she had to wonder if there were other, far less innocuous, surprises lurking behind that angelic smile.

'_God, is dad ever going to feel like a goose when I tell him about this_,' she thought to herself. '_Your sleepovers, your insistence that you didn't have a _"boyfriend"_anytime he asked if you were dating. There were so many little things you had us totally fooled on_.' Yang shook her head at her sister. For all it infuriated her to have been kept in the dark like that, she had to confess, as someone who had hidden a truckload of her own stuff from her father, she was impressed. '_Well played, Rubes, you're as much of a smooth operator as your big sis._'

Dinner the previous night had been uncomfortably tense. Everyone steered clear of anything controversial. Yang didn't want to talk things over with Ruby until she had some idea what she was getting into. Which meant she needed to talk to Weiss. Unfortunately, the heiress was as clever as a fox, and went to great lengths not to let herself be interrogated. As a result, the stand-off continued.

A blur of motion streaked across the room from the entrance. "I see we're all in our seats and ready to go," greeted Oobleck as he arrived standing ramrod straight in the centre of the room. A carefully metered draught of coffee disappeared from his cup. "Today we're discussing Post Faunus Rights Revolution Militancy." He transplanted himself again and another sip of coffee vanished from the cup, washing away the mouthful of a class title. "This is a sensitive topic for many people, so, we will be attempting to conduct it with decorum and respect. We are all young adults here, I expect…"

Yang began to zone out pretty much straight away. It was all administrative stuff to start anyway. But when she turned to whisper to Blake, she paused. Her dark-haired friend was tense, fearsomely so. It struck her as pretty strange, as even Velvet, the class' actual faunus girl, was not looking nearly as tense. Of course, Velvet had most of the classroom between herself and Weiss, a luxury Blake could not claim.

"You okay?" whispered Yang.

"Pay attention, would you?" rebuked Blake, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, right."

The lengthy discussion in the class stayed largely civil. It certainly helped that Weiss at her absolute worst was still far more open-minded about the faunus than Cardin and his team had ever been. She was also, perhaps even more importantly, extremely knowledgeable, for all that her upbringing had led her to view everything from a particular angle. Thus even when she said something provocative that riled up others in the class, it was something that could be argued on the merits, rather than simply being an ugly slur. It also helped that Melanie seemed to be doing a reasonable job of acting friendly that morning, even to discussion points raised by Ruby and Weiss. Despite this, Blake remained inexplicably tense throughout the class.

Finally, Oobleck coughed and placed his by now empty mug upon his desk. "Well, we are entering the last phase of our discussion. Many of us have had personal experiences with some of these groups. Some of these experiences may have been positive, others negative. Sometimes dangerously so. Now, I promise no one will be forced to talk about anything they don't want to. But I'd like to see a show of hands; who here has had a personal experience with a militant faunus group?"

Yang glanced about the class and her eyes went wide as hand after hand went up, and after a moment, realised that only herself and Jaune Arc's hands were left unraised. She leaned back in her seat in surprise.

"Astounding," declared the Professor. He looked around, quite taken aback by the numbers he saw. "Ten out of twelve, I must say, I don't think I've ever seen a class group with more than eight. Most only have two or three."

Yang's scroll vibrated upon the desk, prompting the girl to reach out and tap it. A little hologram lit up above it, displaying a message that read: "[Aurea Perrault] - _lol look u w/ ur hand dwn, nt fooling ne1! shld b 11/12 not 10/12 hands up_" Her eyes shot up to the girl who sent the message, clear across the classroom. The tomboy was smiling devilishly and waving at her. Just as the anger began to bloom, it was short-circuited by consternation as she felt Blake's eyes on her. Hurriedly she turned the scroll upside down, and shot an evil look at Aurea.

"What was that about?" whispered Blake.

"Aurea being silly, don't worry about it," reassured Yang with an casual wave.

Blake gave her a long, probing look. "That message didn't say 'being silly' to me, Yang." She waited a beat then added, "Well, okay, it was silly text message garble, but she seemed to be saying something very pointed."

Yang grimaced and leaned into the desk, her gesture matched by Blake, who kept eye contact with her. "I know the Professor said no one would to have to say what their experience was, but I'd rather avoid being asked entirely."

"I can sympathise with that, but I'd like to hear what experiences you've had," whispered Blake intensely, eyes sharp and piercing. "I've told you a lot, so you know I've got an … interest … in the Fang."

There was something about the way that Blake paused that concerned Yang, and she returned Blake's searching look. Her dark haired friend was visibly agitated, for all she tried to suppress it. Seeing that nervousness emboldened her and she smiled wickedly. "Oh, really? What's it worth to you?"

"Yang…," said Blake warningly.

"Next chance we get, I'll take Bumblebee out of storage and into Vale," she began with a salesman's conspiratorial smile. "Come with me and I'll tell you what you like."

"Also giving you a few days to come up with a story," noted Blake dryly.

Yang rested her cheek upon the palm of her hand and met her partner's eyes. "Why would I? I've never told you a lie, Blake, I hope you know that." The faunus girl blinked and straightened, blushing faintly. "When we first met, you didn't ask much, so I didn't have reason to. Now you're a friend, and I never lie to my friends. If you want my dirty laundry, I won't lie about it."

"I know you're hiding things, Blake," said Yang openly. "I'm not going to ask, but I'm looking forward to the day you tell."

Blake opened her mouth to reply but instead jumped as Weiss threw an elbow into her side. Both partners instinctively turned to face Oobleck, and found the Professor looking back at them balefully. "Perhaps you two would like to channel your gossipping into something productive."

"Sorry, Professor!" said Yang cheerfully. "Won't happen again!"

"I trust not. Miss Scarletina has suggested that part of the appeal for the militant groups to the faunus community is that they provide a faunus-only forum. That they are apart from the human population. This has led into an interesting discussion on whether there is in fact any meaningful human involvement or sympathy in the militant movement. A discussion you have thus far not contributed too. Perhaps you two would give us your opinions now?"

The two girls exchanged a sour look. Yang was first to reply. "Well, they're hardly self-reliant. Many militant groups derive a lot of what they can't steal through black market trade with humans. For all that society as a whole is bigoted against the faunus, if there weren't a lot of humans who sympathise with their cause, none of them would be nearly as big or successful as they are now."

"What? Who would sell to militant groups?" asked Jaune in surprise. "Wouldn't they be, uh, shooting it back at you?"

"They actually get a lot of Dust, weapon components, and consumables from human sources," explained Weiss with a disgusted look. "Some stolen, yes, but a lot of it bought, bartered, or donated."

"They buy from crime groups who aren't picky who they sell to, for instance," replied Melanie. "Or other legally grey groups. We knew a few."

"Motorcycle gangs are a big source," added Aurea airily, leaning back in her seat and lacing her fingers behind her blonde hair. She had a smug little grin on her face as she spoke, which confused her faunus teammate all the more. "They have access to the weapons, Dust, and few scruples."

"Rubbish," objected Velvet. "You can't get into those gangs if you're a faunus, they're extremely bigoted. Faunus groups clash with them constantly. I doubt they're selling to violent faunus rights groups, it would be at complete cross-purposes with their bigotry."

"Not all of them," protested Yang from across the class. "There are a couple gangs that are mixed membership, or even faunus only. Having ears on top of your head doesn't stop people from appreciating the open road."

"There was a mixed-species gang based near where me, Yang and Ruby grew up that was like that," agreed Aurea, looking back at Yang. "The Forgotten Hounds, stubborn holdouts from before the area gentrified. It used to be a big conduit for the White Fang, Jaws, VFLM, pretty much anyone. In fact, there were a lot of sympathisers in that group, weren't there?"

"That was the rumour around Signal," agreed Yang coolly, trying not to glare at the tomboy. Aurea looked very relaxed, reclining in her seat. Like everyone else she was wearing her school uniform, though she took advantage of the Academy's laxity by wearing her coat loosely over her blazer, similarly to how Ruby wore her hood with her uniform.

Yang had known Aurea Perrault as one of the neighbourhood kids, but hadn't ever really gotten along with her. They had often fought, although more as tests of strength than from anger. When they were both eleven, they had decided that combat school was for them. In their upper-middle class neighbourhood, that meant the nearby Signal Academy, most prestigious of the combat secondaries. For Yang it had been even less of a question, as her father and uncle were on staff at the institute and they paved the way for her. Stuck in the same year at Signal, they had not been directly in each other's way. However, because neither attended in a boarding school capacity, they often bumped into each other while away from school, returning to their family homes.

"It's crazy if you ask me," complained Weiss. "Trading with the White Fang? Why would people want to enable terrorists like that? Maybe for Lien, I guess."

"Because they're not terrorists," protested Blake. "The White Fang is a big group, and most people in it are just ordinary faunus who want other faunus to get a fair chance in life."

Weiss turned to her in abject shock. "How can you even say that?" she protested, thinking of the White Fang ambush.

"I know there are lot of misguided faunus in the White Fang's militant arm, like all of these groups," Blake attempted to explain. "But that doesn't make them all terrorists. There are a lot of humans who don't think what happens to faunus is just."

"I know that people like that exist; I just don't understand the logic behind it," complained Weiss, throwing up her hands.

"Out of curiosity, how many of these groups would let humans join them?" asked Jaune.

Velvet was completely taken aback by the idea. "What? None of them, that'd be absurd," she said, looking at Jaune like he had grown a second head.

"What? But when we were in the city on Sunday, after Ruby's big fight, we saw a human girl with the White F-_ow_!" said Jaune before Pyrrha sharply elbowed him in the ribs.

"Something to contribute, Miss Nikos?" asked Professor Oobleck in that dangerous tone teachers have for wayward students as every eye in the room turned to focus on Pyrrha and Jaune.

"N-No, sir, not at all, nothing interesting," said Pyrrha nervously. She tried her best to smile in the face of Oobleck's stare as he drummed his fingers along his arm. The look she was getting from Melanie was no less intense. She dared not look in Weiss and Ruby's direction.

"Miss Rose?" asked the Professor next.

Yang glanced over at her sister, who stopped glaring icy daggers at Jaune long enough to smile winningly at Oobleck. "Oh, nothing Professor, don't misunderstand; Jaune was just saying that there were some White Fang in the area after me and Weiss had some weapons practice."

"Right," replied Oobleck sceptically in a precisely clipped voice. "Of course," he said, as he turned and began to make a series of notes on a notebook on his desk. Ruby and Weiss went straight back to glaring at Jaune, who pulled at his collar nervously.

Pyrrha stood up and moved down her aisle to whisper in Melanie's ear. The girl in white lost her angry look. She frowned and nodded at the Mistral girl, seemingly appeased by whatever she had been told, though she turned to fix Yang's sister with a very sour look.

The blonde girl turned to whisper down the desks, "So I take it Jaune hadn't told Melanie yet?"

"No," whispered back Ruby. "They were going to tell them this evening. Pyrrha is going with them, she can be very determined. This should be okay."

Professor Oobleck cleared his throat. "Back to your seat, Miss Nikos," he instructed.

* * *

><p>The door to the sparring arena was still shut when the teams began to arrive. Because the arena was large and expensive to open up, sparring classes involved multiple class groups, and team MAVM's old comrades were there, including Alice in her blue and white with gleaming Cheshire Silver. Team JNPR was there next, before any of their own classmates, led by a very sheepish looking Jaune Arc. The boy's cheeks were still red and singed from his embarrassment at having prematurely told the MAVM girls about Ruby and Weiss' fight with the White Fang. He had kind of expected that, but the fact Nora had taken to poking him in the sides every time he turned away was rather a surprise.<p>

Melanie sauntered up on her own, eye-catching as ever in her lacy white battle dress. With an unimpressed look she walked right up to Jaune and folded her arms. She knew the sort of cloth Jaune was cut from. With a lesson learned from her society days, Melanie got close and used her presence and looks to intimidating effect.

"So when was I going to be told about this fight?" she demanded, shoulders squared, stance wide, and her eyes as sharp as flint.

"Uh, this evening," explained Jaune hesitantly, doing his very best to keep his mind clear.

Pyrrha stepped in, putting a hand across Melanie to lead her away from Jaune. "Yes, we didn't get the full explanation from Ruby until yesterday mid-day, and we figured a weeknight when we're all back at our dorms would be best."

"Excuse me, Pyrrha, but I was talking with my fellow team leader here," protested Melanie haughtily, resisting the other girl's interference and gesturing towards Jaune.

The red-haired girl came up short and looked between Melanie's piercing green eyes and Jaune's pained look. '_I'm not helping at all, am I?_' she asked herself, realising that she was undermining her team leader. Worse, she was doing this right in front of another team leader. Anxiety over seeing two team leaders who weren't used to the lifestyle was leading her into a mistake. It was a bad look, and if she kept at this, she would make it hard for Jaune to work with his fellow leaders. He had handled himself well in the meeting, so she needed to trust him now that she had explained how things worked.

And just maybe seeing the provocatively dressed Malachite girl flaunting her charms in front of Jaune was having an effect as well.

"Of course," conceded Pyrrha, biting her lip and taking a step back. She dropped her hand from where it had rested on Melanie's arm. "I suppose I'll leave you to it then," she said as she began to turn away.

"Oh for…," muttered Melanie under her breath as the other student turned to leave. "Pyrrha, don't walk off, just relax. I understand how peer discipline works, it was a part of my old line of work," replied Melanie with an eye roll.

"In a kinda different setting though, wasn't it?" pointed out Jaune hesitantly, still not sure how to really approach the topic of the Malachite girls' old line of work.

"Aurea and Velvet are both combat school girls, you know," pointed out Melanie. "They explained the differences shortly after I was made team leader. I think I have a handle on it."

"See? We'll be fine, Pyrrha," reassured Jaune with a generous smile.

"What are you worried about, Pyrrha?" asked Melanie, turning to face her.

Pyrrha looked between the two team leaders, frowning and shifting uncomfortably. "The majority of this class-group are combat school alumni. All of your teammates, Jaune; Velvet and Aurea from your team, Melanie; and Ruby and Yang in Ruby's team. Plus I'm told Blake is from the outlands, and they have the same code as Hunters do. And Weiss is involved in the incident." She breathed in deep and set her fists on her hip.

"She hurt your sister. You don't like her," continued to explain Pyrrha.

"You mean Ruby?" asked Melanie.

"Yes, I mean Ruby," confirmed Pyrrha. "And there's no love lost between you and Weiss. I … worry that you'll want to take an underworld approach, because none of us would be okay with that. You could take this incident and use it to try to get revenge for Miltia's accident, and I don't want to see our friend get railroaded."

"Oh, Pyrrha," sighed Melanie. "Don't listen to the movies. No mob boss drills a henchman just to be scary. You have to screw up pretty seriously to have something really bad happen to you." Melanie glanced around conspiratorially and said, "Truth be told, nine times out of ten, all I did was tie them to a chair, walk around beside them and put my foot up on the chair. The sight of my heel-blade between their legs usually smartened them up." Melanie glanced over at Jaune and smiled. Her eyes flicked down at his pants and Jaune blanched.

"This isn't something we want to discuss here and now," said the JNPR team leader. "Tonight I'll explain it all, then us leaders meet to decide what to do. Uh, … who would we get from Ruby's team?" he asked of the other two girls.

"Blake," said Pyrrha. "Ruby and Weiss are involved, and Yang is Ruby's sister, so Blake is the best choice."

"Why isn't it something we can discuss now?" asked the MAVM leader.

"We really don't want to be overheard," answered Jaune. "And with a sparring match coming up, you don't really want this on your mind."

Melanie stopped and looked between the other two, letting the moment hang slowly. "This sounds pretty bad," she said slowly. "You both seem … worked up about it."

"Yes, we are," admitted Pyrrha. "But we have sparring class now. Leave it until tonight, okay?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and Melanie relaxed for a moment. "Alright, we'll talk tonight. I'm not going to try and railroad anyone."

Pyrrha sighed audibly, "Okay, but after the last week, I'm worried. I want to see this done right by Ruby and Weiss."

"I'll hear you guys out," promised Melanie.

"Okay … enough about that," said Pyrrha, trying to move on. "Looking forward to sparring?"

Melanie brightened after a moment. "Hey, I finally got my new equipment, this will be my first chance to really try them out."

"Do tell," encouraged Pyrrha, happily putting aside the confrontation to continue on a more relaxed note.

Melanie held up elbow gloves which had coiled metal scales winding around them repeatedly. She made a quick flick of her wrists and the metal smoothly coalesced and unwound, extending out into razor sharp elbow blades that extended from a few inches back of the wrist to a foot past her elbow. "You'd never know they were there until I decide to fight," she said. "Alice hooked me up. Should let me contribute to some of the larger Grimm."

"Very discreet weapons," noted Pyrrha. "You're still thinking like a deceptive bodyguard, I see."

"Habit is a powerful thing," admitted Melanie before she noticed a quartet of new arrivals. "Oh, it looks like the girl of the hour is here." She glanced at Jaune and smirked. "Don't look now, Jauney-boy, but it looks like your Snow Angel is pissed off."

"What … oh, crap," blurted Jaune as he looked up to see Weiss peeling off from her friends and stalking his way with a face as fell as a polar blizzard.

"I think I know who your opponent is today," observed Pyrrha wryly.

With the twelve students all together again, they immediately intermingled, seeking out one another to play out their grudges and indulge their interests. Velvet sought out Blake and with an innocent grin suggested she'd like another crack at their battle in the Foreverfall Forest. Ren found Miltia and offered a challenge, wanting to test StormFlowers against her claws, while Nora went to Pyrrha and Melanie wandered off to arrange a fight with one of Cardin's goons.

Yang found herself walking menacingly towards Aurea, who was smiling nastily in return. The tomboy was leaning on her weapon in its Luna rifle form. The team MAVM girl was taller than most of the girls in the class, but was still shy of Yang or Pyrrha. Her figure was a little on the boyish side, but her snug, midriff baring top made the most of what she had. However her bare arms were strong and wiry, and her legs were trim and toned with her physical conditioning, and in her current occupation, that was the important part.

"Hey, Yang," greeted Aurea. "Let me guess, you want to go?"

"Yup," said Yang, before moving to stand next to Aurea, leaning up against the wall. "Were you trying to get under my skin in there?"

"No, not really," said Aurea. "I just thought it was funny, you sitting there as if you were pure as the driven snow. You always were a wild one; pure really doesn't suit you. I mean, we both know Junior's henchman wasn't exactly an isolated incident."

"Would you just shut up?" asked Yang darkly.

"Honestly, why do you even care?" asked Aurea. "You've joined an academy for Hunters. People really only care that you're strong enough to fight the Grimm. I mean, the Malachite girls haven't hidden their criminal backgrounds and … well, okay, they get a bit of crap for it, but nothing major. So I don't see why you bother hidi-"

"Don't you _dare_!" hissed Yang.

"Hmph." Aurea rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Don't your teammates know? Surely Ruby knows at least?" When Yang continued to say nothing Aurea's eyebrows raised and a bemused expression came over her. "Ha, you kept it even from Ruby? Tight-lipped family, given she hid from you all this time that she was some skirt-chas…," she began to say dismissively before she caught sight of the bloodcurdling expression on the other girl's face. "Given she hid big secrets from you, too, that is. I suppose that would be an awkward talk as well."

"Aurea, neither of us are angels," said Yang quietly. "How about a wager?"

"Oh please, what are you possibly going to offer me for my silence?" asked Aurea with a smirk. "I only knew what us girls in the neighbourhood could see from the outside, but even then I could weave quite the tale of blood and misadventure."

Yang continued on heedlessly. "If you promise to just shut _up_ about what you know if I win, then, if you win, I promise I'll let you sit down with Ruby and you can tell her every last incriminating detail you know."

That got the tomboy's attention, her brows arching high. "Interesting stakes," she snickered. "You sound confident. It's pretty silly though, Yang. Secrets always come out, you're just delaying the inevitable. If Ruby couldn't hide her skirt-chasing for even her first year, I'd say your odds of keeping your skeletons bottled up are just about nil." She looked at Yang, who just stared back flatly. "But sure, you're on. You'll be hard to beat but the idea of seeing Ruby's face as I tear down her idea of you is too much."

* * *

><p>Cheshire Silver had collapsed to its boxy rifle form, all cloudy glass around a dark central barrel which golden dust cylinders progressively fed into. It sat comfortably in the crook of Alice's arm as she strode confidently towards Ruby. The dark haired girl was standing off away from the others with Crescent Rose expanded, practicing offensive drills with the deadly weapon.<p>

"Miss Rose," greeted Alice in cold, clipped tones, coming as close as she dared to the young student's whistling steel.

Ruby worked her arms and lever and brought her scythe's head down onto the grass alongside her right foot, the haft running up alongside her body. "Oh, hey, Alice."

The blonde girl paused and went away from the script in her head to ask, "That's surely not a proper stance; what could you honestly accomplish from there?"

Ruby just smiled and with a little writhe and contortion, seemed to bend around the haft and in a sharp contraction ripped the weapon around and up from its standing start. Crescent Rose's beak sailed mere inches past the front of Alice's nose, up into an overhead stance.

"I was mistaken," observed Alice calmly.

Ruby grinned brightly at those words and collapsed the weapon back into its carry form. "What's up?" she asked.

"Would you believe, I heard the most fascinating story from a very clever little kitty I know," began Alice, bringing her hands together over her cuirass. As the dark crimson-haired student hesitated, letting her older classmate continue. "About a pretty girl in a blue dress with a wicked scythe, and a vain fool with a sword of flame. Oh, I was just delighted to hear that Weiss had introduced you to society dueling. Even if inadvertently."

"Y-you know about that!?" asked Ruby as shock rippled over her face.

"Really now, Miss Ruby, you caused such a stir yesterday," said Alice with a dangerous smile. "The beautiful little debutante… don't snort, I heard that very line from no less than four girls who were at the Tybalt that morning. And," she paused to hold up her scroll, "Some kindly soul sent me the footage. Poor India had no idea it was he who was the humble mouse, and you the deadly pussycat."

"Gossip-queens," muttered Ruby under her breath. "Gossip-queens everywhere."

"Quite," said Alice as she walked gracefully up to Ruby, closing the distance she had allowed for the scythe now that it was safely tucked away. "I'm rather an aficionado of dueling, you see. It comes with being the Sgathan heiress."

"You duel as well?" asked Ruby in interest.

"Oh yes," confirmed Alice. "And _I_ certainly would not have let Venus withhold my prize. Tell me though, did you ask for that stake, or was it offered?"

Ruby began to stammer for a moment, before she settled down, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Asked," she admitted. "It's been a while since I've kissed anyone and I was _kinda_ looking forward to it."

"Really now?" asked Alice with an arched brow. "Well, since we're about to step into a sparring class, shall we add some spice to proceedings?"

"A duel?" asked Ruby, her eyes beginning to sparkle.

"But of course, Miss Ruby," replied Alice. "Just think, if you win, you can get that kiss that Venus denied you."

"It's supposed to be someone else providing the favour, isn't it?" checked Ruby. "Miltia isn't around for you to ask. And I don't think I'll get Weiss to put her name to _this_ duel…"

"That's true, but this is still a class first, so we can bend the forms a little," suggested Alice. "I'll stand surety for my dear Miltia," she added, while planning to not let her girlfriend hear about this duel at all. "But as for yourself, I have rather a different stake I'd like you to agree to, since you aren't going to be able to get Weiss to agree."

Ruby went still, looking at the older girl warily. Something didn't feel right, and she didn't like the sharp look in her eyes. "What is it?"

"I want you to promise to stay away from my Miltia if I win," declared Alice with a terrible intensity.

"I … what, you're, I don't?" stammered Ruby. "Why!?"

"I have my reasons," said Alice, giving nothing away.

Ruby stared up at the blonde girl silently, recognising that Alice was not dealing with her entirely fairly. However, there was a very helpful, friendly source of information that was near at hand. "Stay right there," she instructed with a team leader's imperiousness, to which Alice smiled and indulged.

The dark-haired student looked over her shoulder to where Weiss was still menacing poor Jaune. With a burst of her semblance she flashed across to her partner's side. "Weiss," she said to get the girl's attention.

"What!?" snapped Weiss, angry at being disturbed in her tirade.

"In society duels, making someone promise to stay away from someone else, how much is that worth?" asked the younger girl in a rush.

"I … uh … what? Oh, right, it's huge," said Weiss, completely taken aback by the question. "Forcing an end to an entire relationship, or potential relationship? Huge stakes."

"So more than a kiss? What'd be an equal sorta favour?" asked Ruby with an intense look.

Weiss blushed and whispered her answer, mindful of Jaune's presence. Tucked in close, she missed the girl's eyes go wide while a bemused little smile crossed her lips.

"Right, thanks Weiss," answered Ruby before she disappeared in a cloud of petals, leaving Weiss looking about in surprise.

"No problems," said Weiss, frowning as Ruby had already left. "Anyway, back to you, Jaune!" she declared, before the whole conversation sank in. She turned around to seek out Ruby's customary red cape but couldn't spot it. "Oh, _crap_, what did I just do?"

Ruby slid to a halt on the far side of Alice, her boots churning up the sod as she halted. The younger girl stood there, smiling, hands behind her back. The blonde couldn't help but grin. "I had so hoped you wouldn't check with Miss Schnee," she admitted shamelessly.

For a moment, the younger girl looked at her, silver eyes running deep in thought. "So, a duel, high-stakes, weapon to weapon," gushed Ruby, for whom Alice's offering tickled many of her childhood fancies. More than one novel on her shelf back home had such a scene. "Dashing, daring, a damsel's heart on the line. Sounds fun!"

Alice just smiled, resisting the urge to do anything so base as snicker. "One would expect Miltiades to have smote you had she heard you refer to her as a damsel."

"F-figure of speech only," protested Ruby.

"Do we have an agreement, then?"

"Alice, this is the sort of thing that I used to daydream about," explained Ruby with a playful grin. "Body straining, steel whistling, excitement and thrills! I'm in! Except..."

"Except?" asked Alice with a wry, expectant smile.

"You have to put up a fair wager," said Ruby, putting her hands on her hips and fixing Alice with a look. "Big stakes are exciting, but you're trying to get me to bet ten grand against ten Lien, and that isn't fair." She huffed cutely and Alice had to suppress a giggle.

"One of my kisses, ten Lien?" gasped Alice theatrically. "Miss Ruby, your cruelty is staggering. Oh dear, settle down, I was only teasing. I wonder, though," mused Alice, going off on a tangent. "You seem quite confident and sure of yourself today, but with my Miltia you were all nerves. I wonder why the difference?"

Ruby froze for a second, then somewhat sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Stress, really," she explained. "But I'm feeling a lot better today. And I love sparring, so I'm too eager to let it get to me."

"Why so stressed?" asked Alice, but the younger girl just shook her head and refused to be drawn on it. '_Well_,' thought Alice, '_I guess I'm touching on something sensitive; interesting._'

"So taciturn," complained Alice with a little affected pout. "Very well. Perhaps more than a humble kiss. Perhaps you fancy something rather more laced with spice and fire rather than sweetness as your prize? A ... how did dear Miltia put it, a 'petting session'?"

For a long moment, Ruby looked at her, fixing her with a gaze. "That's right," she said in a quiet voice. She gathered her gumption and managed a smile. "I'm sure that seems pretty forward, but you _are_ asking for a lot and several months is a long time to go without so much as a peck."

Alice ran a hand through her hair as her lips made a little 'hmm'. "Only if you're okay with myself as your offering."

Ruby winced and grinned ruefully. "Aheh, you think Miltia would refuse out of hand? Well, I guess we haven't gotten off on the right foot." The degree to which the girl had missed the point made Alice's jaw drop.

"That's … not quite it," said the heiress slowly.

"You do know I don't want to hurt her, right?" said Ruby earnestly. "You don't actually have to try and protect her like this."

Alice just smiled at her as she began to walk away. "We have our terms. I'll see you in the Arena. Good luck, Miss Rose."

* * *

><p>Three-dozen students found their seats on the benches surrounding the pit of the sparring arena. Most were enthusiastic, looking forward to watching or participating in battle with strong opponents. A healthy buzz of conversation echoed through the gallery, awaiting the arrival of Professor Goodwitch, who was to take the sparring class.<p>

Yang picked a bench at random and made herself comfortable, and the rest of the team piled in after her, Weiss and Ruby in the middle. Weiss glanced at Yang to her left, and Ruby to her right and bit her lip.

"Ruby," she asked, trying her very best not to sound cross and experiencing limited success.

"Hmm?" replied the girl.

"Why were you asking me about those stakes in particular?" asked the heiress tensely.

"What? Oh, nothing, don't worry about it," dismissed Ruby. Her eyes lit up as she saw their teacher arrive through a door on the far side of the arena. Surprise came over her, however, as Ozpin, Port and Oobleck followed her in. "Oh, look, Professor Goodwitch has company," she said.

Weiss glared and nudged her partner. "Don't just..."

"Good afternoon, class," greeted Goodwitch in a quiet voice that played through the speakers in the auditorium gallery as she hopped down to the arena floor. "Nice to see everyone in their seats on time. We're clearly all eager to proceed. I can see we have full attendance from all teams, so we shall proceed apace. Do we have any volunteers?"

Hands went up across the auditorium, led by Alice, Velvet, Yang and, to Ruby's surprise, Weiss nominated herself as well. "Good to see such enthusiasm in this class," noted Glynda with an arched brow. She looked among the four volunteers with a keen eye. "Alright, I believe the first volunteer was over here. Miss Sgathan, would you like to nominate an opponent, or shall I find one for you?"

Alice leaned over the bench in front of her and called down to her teacher, "I wish to fight Ruby Rose." A startled buzz erupted from Ruby's classmates, but she didn't notice as she grinned eagerly.

"Do you accept, Miss Rose?" asked the teacher, getting a quick affirmative in reply. "Then let's commence. Please enter the arena."

Ruby stood and pulled her weapon from its harness. But as she went to leave the aisle past Blake, she felt Weiss grab her wrist and looked back. "Weiss?" she asked.

"Do you have a wager with Alice?" asked her partner, causing Yang to lean over with sudden alarm, over Weiss' shoulder.

Ruby smiled and shrugged, giving nothing away. "It's just a little fun, Weiss." After that, Weiss let go of her hand, knowing she couldn't keep her without causing a scene. The dark-haired girl went down to the edge of the gallery and vaulted the wall, landing easily into the sparring pit below.

Up above in the gallery, Miltiades raced across and popped herself in Ruby's old seat. "What are they doing?" she asked urgently, but both other girls just shrugged. Yang was honestly in the dark, but Weiss simply feigned ignorance to the others, not wishing to cause a scandal for her partner just yet.

Down below, Alice was limbering up with Cheshire Silver, taking a few practice swings with her customary elegance. She knew this was going to be a gruelling fight, that Ruby was probably as dangerous an opponent as she had ever faced. So much speed and power, all tucked into that angelic little frame. Alice kept her weapon in the two-handed greatsword transform, looking to match Crescent Rose strength for strength.

Glynda gestured both of the girls close to herself. The Sgathan heiress frowned and harnessed her weapon over her shoulder again, while Ruby strode over with Crescent Rose's horrifying head assembly hanging over her shoulder. Despite being familiar with the weapon, Alice felt the powerful difference between intellectually knowing about the weapon, and actually knowing that it was going to be coming for her shortly. Among the heavy scythe's many strengths, sheer intimidating visual impact was high among them. It was fearsome and looked every inch of it a lifetaker.

"Be careful," instructed Glynda to both contestants, causing the younger student to blush and glance up at their audience. "Miss Rose, this will be your first battle since that unfortunateness with Miltiades Malachite. I'm sure we'd like to avoid a repeat."

That, more than anything else, took Alice's breath away and put a cold shiver through her spine. She had spent considerable time visiting her girlfriend as she recovered from the horrific wound that had split her chest. Knowledge of the power that could be generated by that ruthless scythe had set her entirely on edge.

'_It isn't supposed to be this hard!_' she told herself. '_You are an heiress to Sgathan House; you are the victor of dozens of duels; you have the finest of weapons. Don't let her intimidate you!_' She bit down on the inside of her cheek and straightened up, forcing herself to appear aloof and confident. She even thought she pulled it off fairly well.

"Yes, Professor, I'll be careful," promised Ruby with a smile.

Glynda backed away from the gladiators, pulling up her large scroll and tapping away. Ruby quickly jogged to the other side of the arena and took up her guard, haft diagonally across her body, beak high right and forward. Alice slid into a low guard, right foot forward and Cheshire Silver low and forward.

"Proceed once ready."

They approached each other swiftly. Alice watched the scythe dip, and touch Ruby's shoulder. The rifle fired and that hideous weapon was suddenly screaming in. The broad hooked blade approached even as the older girl stepped back and away, bringing her weapon into a reverse grip to receive the blow.

Crescent Rose hit like a thunderbolt, sparks flying between it and Cheshire Silver. Such power lay behind the blow that the older girl staggered, almost falling to a knee. As her feet slid her ankle nearly rolled over. Although stopping Ruby's attack all but took her breath away, there was no time to rest; the tailspike was ripping up at her from the other side. Alice's hands rolled over to bring her sword across to deflect it on her right, and then strike overhand in an arcing blow. Ruby raised the haft of her weapon laterally as she took a knee and caught the blow easily.

The girl in red and black smiled as she rose and fought, twisting, striking and slashing with immense power, giving Alice all she could handle to keep up. But the heiress knew tricks as well. Cheshire Silver thrust down from an ox guard at Ruby's ankles. Her foe responded with aplomb, sliding the targeted foot back to safety, so that she went onto one knee, scythe head in her favoured high right. As the expected, brutally powerful low sweep was launched by Ruby, Alice split her weapon into its dual sword form. She jabbed her left sword towards the ground and set a low-heeled boot upon the flat of its blade, with her other weapon held high.

When the scythe's blade struck the sword, the force flipped Alice forward. She landed with a boot upon Ruby's knee. With a thrill of satisfaction she saw Ruby look up at her in abject shock, an instant before the sword in Alice's right hand smote her hard across the face. That satisfaction was short-lived as Ruby reacted with blistering speed, backflipping to throw off Alice before catching her in mid-air with Crescent Rose's blade.

The gallery stirred noisily as large chunks came off both girls' auras, and the rapid exchanges only intensified. Despite crying out in pain as she crunched into the ground, the blue and white clad girl rolled to her feet with Cheshire Silver in pulse-rifle form, a boxy, crystalline weapon with a solid stock and iron-sights between a series of dust-vials in a 'v' formation. Gasps filled the gallery again, as Ruby was already upon her, scythe coming from back right. A beam of angry blue light struck Ruby in the chest, but she rolled with the momentum and continued her blistering attack, burning through more rifle rounds to generate power. Blue crystal plates shifted once more, transforming once more into the greatsword that Alice based her art around. She braced herself to meet Ruby's blow.

With a minute, mid-flight adjustment, Ruby extended her arms, and what she lost in power, she gained in placing her scythe's beak just past the greatsword's edge. Sparks flew when the two edges ground past each other and the great curving blade punched into Alice's chest, aura flashing a vivid powder blue as it struggled with the force. Fast footwork put Ruby's right leg behind Alice's thighs, pitilessly locking her body against the incoming force of the scythe. The scythe's tip slid down Alice's side and pinned the blonde girl's own sword against her chest, and bent Alice back over Ruby's knee. The older girl went limp.

The arena lights returned to full glory. Ruby blinked and realised Alice was out cold, overwhelmed by rapid aura loss. She wrapped her left arm around her foe and cradled her safely to her chest. Crescent Rose collapsed back into its carry-state. Silver eyes looked up to where her team sat, and found her friends hitched forward, leaning over the bench before them, watching open-mouthed. She was surprised to find Miltiades sitting in her own seat, both hands over her mouth.

As she heard the click-clack of Glynda's heels approaching she pulled the larger girl up into both arms. Out of curiosity, she turned to look at the great status board at one side of the arena, and the aura gauges borne therein. What she saw there chilled her instantly.

Alice's was empty, red-bordered and flashing: a broken aura.

"Oh no, not again…," breathed Ruby.

Glynda came around to quickly check Alice's flank, but she immediately sighed with relief. "Her battle dress' steel lining held," determined the severe Professor. "Just some patchwork required. However, a less glancing blow, or a blow that hit a less armoured area, and we'd have seen a repeat of the Miltiades incident," she said to Ruby sharply, before her expression softened a little. "It was a very close-run thing, and Alice's aura had been a touch over half-full. Perhaps you weren't to have known."

Ruby was promptly dismissed back to the gallery by the professor, leaving Alice in Glynda's care. The girl in blue and white behind her awoke after a moment, groaning lowly. The scythe wielder ignored the dismissal for a moment, kneeling down next to her defeated foe. "You alright, Alice?"

Alice pushed herself up into a seated position. "Quite alright, Miss Ruby," she said in a tone that sounded more like a complaint than a reassurance. "Nary a drop of blood. Only my foolish pride was struck." She nodded towards the gallery. "Kindly let my Miltia know that I am well," she requested, dismissing the girl by her tone. "If you don't mind, I should like to walk out by my own graces."

With a gust of air and a spray of petals, Ruby turned and launched herself back up to join her friends, landing easily in the aisle.

Miltiades was immediately at her side, and she seized the younger girl's arm fiercely. "Look at me," she demanded.

Ruby met Miltiades' eyes without fear, and put a calming hand on her shoulder. "It's all okay, Miltia. It's all okay," she whispered. "Alice is fine, not a scratch on her. A couple days on light duty while her aura recovers fully and she'll be fine." Some of the tension left Miltia's shoulders as she took on Ruby's reassurance.

Beneath them Alice had gotten to her feet and recovered her weapon, sheathing it over her shoulder. She moved gingerly, but mostly unhindered. Miltia let go of Ruby's arm and went to the railing to watch her girlfriend make her way to a hatch that would let her out of the fighting pit, to a stairwell up to the gallery. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"Rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated," reassured Alice with a wan smile. "I'll be there presently."

The Professor at the heart of the arena cleared her throat to regain the class' attention. "Before we proceed, Miss Rose. Your footwork was top-notch, and I hope everyone was paying attention to it," declared Glynda. "I know you're young, but if you were to nominate for the Vytal Tournament, your prospects for qualifying are quite good."

"Thank you, Professor," replied Ruby from the gallery with a smile.

"Next hand raised belonged to Miss Schnee," continued Glynda. "Do you have an opponent in mind?"

"I'd like to challenge Jaune Arc," answered Weiss, turning to glare heatedly at the blonde boy, who recoiled in alarm from the look.

Glynda mulled that over with her lips pressed thinly in disapproval. "Perhaps … Miss Xiao-Long, your hand was next after Weiss, did you have an opponent in mind?"

"Aurea Perrault," nominated Yang, arms folded across her chest.

Glynda tapped at her scroll and then nodded in satisfaction. "I'm going to combine these battles into a two on two. Any objections? Good. Please enter the arena."

Yang stretched, sinews creaking audibly, and made her way down the aisle, along with a very nervous Jaune. Weiss likewise stood, giving Ruby a last speculative look before lithely leaping the retaining wall. After that the heiress' attention was squarely on Jaune, who was looking anywhere but back at her. Aurea entered with a flurry of movement, firing her carbine into the wall as she kicked off it, earning a disapproving frown from Glynda. She made it over halfway across the arena before she landed. With a cheeky grin she turned to face the others.

"I'm with Jauney-boy here!" declared Yang as she hit the ground. The boy in question landed next to her and she immediately collared him to emphasise the point.

"Works for me!" called out Aurea. "How about you, Princess?"

Weiss frowned and drew her weapon with an angry flourish. "It'll do," she said simply.

As the two pairs formed up on either side of the arena, Jaune leaned over to Yang and began to whisper. "Yang, I think I have a plan," he confided.

"Really?" asked Yang with a grin.

'Yeah, this should work," he said. "Okay, first you go-"

Glynda tapped a button on her scroll and the ambient lights dropped, leaving only the spotlights on the Arena. "You may commence," she declared in a commanding voice.

To Jaune's dismay, the girl beside him threw her arms back and blasted off into battle, Ember Celica's rounds echoing through the amphitheatre. "W-wait, what?!" he stammered, before a beautiful flash of light caught his attention. A dozen brilliant blue dust missiles were screaming in at him, bearing Weiss' regards. "Crap!" he cried out, raising his shield to weather the pounding blows. Soon all thoughts of a plan faded as battle was joined.

A cacophony of noise filled the arena. Myrtenaster's powers were unleashed in complex, well-drilled combinations that screamed and hissed in the air. Joining it was the thunderous boom of Ember Celica and the crack and whine of Aurea's weapon forms, Luna and Sole. Working in two individual fights, the students ripped about the arena, exchanging blows.

Although Weiss held an advantage at range, she had no fear of doing her work in close, and when Jaune finally got through the gauntlet of ice and missile that she threw his way she was perfectly happy to pit Myrtenaster and her technique against Crocea Mors and Jaune's more amateurish manners. The rapier and the longsword vyed as Weiss set a hedge of steel about the young man.

'_Oh my god, she is fast!_' thought Jaune to himself as he called on every lesson with Pyrrha that he could recall. And swordplay had sounded so simple to him at first! But here he felt like he was playing chess against a girl with a time machine, who was seeing his moves several turns ahead. At one point Weiss was so far ahead of him that her rapier had settled into position to parry his blow even before his muscles began to carry out his intended strike. If it weren't for his aura, the riposte from that exchange would have effectively trimmed his left eyebrow. But much of the time she didn't even bother to parry; Weiss' footwork simply carried her past his clumsiness like a river was carried past a fallen log.

"Jaune!" he heard screamed from the gallery. "Stop swinging for her sword, aim for the body! You have to force reactions!"

'_Easier said than done, Pyrrha_,' he thought to himself in frustration. A civilian's fear of inflicting and receiving harm was difficult to overcome.

Across the arena, the two golden girls were locked into a furious close-in battle using every trick in the book to get an edge. Aurea's cudgel was in constant motion, being wielded two handed to nimbly knock aside Yang's gauntlets and constantly shifting in and out of its carbine transform to fire point blank rounds. But Yang was canny and strong and every part of her body was a weapon. There was no way to stop her landing blows, and Aurea knew that all she needed was to allow one gap in her defences and Yang would open her up like a tin can.

Once you let Yang Xiao-Long break your guard and start up a combo, it was almost always irrecoverable. And with Weiss seemingly so focused on Jaune, Aurea knew she had little hope for intervention if she slipped up. But both Aurea and Jaune would have been surprised to know how much the two veteran fighters they faced were aware of each other's battles.

Glynda noticed, however, spotting how neither Weiss nor Yang ever turned their back on the other, how Weiss partially disengaged from Jaune when it looked like Aurea was about to be overrun by Yang, and then renewing her assault on the blond boy when her teammate recovered. And in how Yang carefully worked their fight back towards Weiss.

After a minute of furious battle, the gap between the pairs had closed to a few meters. Then Yang got around behind Aurea's guard on the left and initiated a rolling series of kicks that staggered the tomboy. Rather than go straight for the finishing blow, Yang went into a shotgun-assisted roll, grabbed Jaune by the scruff of the neck, and hurled him bodily at the staggering Aurea.

Weiss desperately tried to adjust her strike as she became aware of the sudden danger. As her steel tried to come around, Yang was spinning low, in and under Weiss' guard, rising into an uppercut that caught her teammate right on the point of the chin, lifting them both off the ground. A further blow from a knee and an elbow inverted the heiress. She nearly came down on her head, throwing her arms out in a last-ditch save, but she could not stop Yang from seizing her by the ankle and bodily hurling her across the arena, where she hit a wall and slumped to the ground.

The brawler turned her attention back to Jaune and Aurea, sighing with feeling as she realised the team JNPR leader was being squeamish about landing finishing blows, which was stringing out the battle and letting the tomboy recover. Grunting with irritation, she expelled her used shells from Ember Celica and loaded two fresh strips, and blasted her way back into the fight. Aurea cried out as the girl burst inside her guard and erupted into violence.

With a boot planted atop her victim's right foot, Yang threw a powerful, shotgun-assisted uppercut into Aurea's jaw, making her see stars. She seized the unresisting girl and whipped her around and drove a hammering elbow into her face as she came past, spinning the girl up into the air to land with a thud, a bounce and a final thud.

Up in the gallery, the two Malachite girls went green around the gills as they watched Yang apply the coup de grace to their comrade, vivid memories of being on the receiving end of similarly brutal finales. They exchanged sympathetic looks from across the aisle. Miltia winced as she heard Ruby cheer on her sister loudly.

On the ground, Yang allowed herself a moment to exhale in satisfaction, dusting off her gauntlets. Jaune regathered himself, lowering his arms as he looked at Aurea's crumpled form. She was okay, but out cold.

"I can't believe you threw m…," he began to say, before both he and Yang realised that Glynda had not yet called the fight. His eyes had a moment to flick up at the status display, where he could see one red-limned aura bar under the four portraits. One, and only one. "Cra-," he began to say.

A meteor storm of large, scintillating azure pulses demolished an unprepared Jaune in a heartbeat. Weiss came storming back across the arena floor with fury in her eyes. Myrtenaster's blade turned to a brilliant ruby hue as she launched hard off a glyph and swung for Yang's neck. The steel clanged off Ember Celica's left gauntlet and Weiss had to step around the counterpunch from the right gauntlet. Fire from the red dust in Myrtenaster flared out, adding a complication to Yang's defence, but she just grit her teeth in a savage smile and bent her mind and experience to the task.

As they twisted and turned, exchanging blows, the students in the gallery were on the edge of their seats watching the two combatants fight without restraint. Warning bells began to ring for Glynda, however, as Yang sized up Weiss' demeanour and conduct, and expelled Ember Celica's shells for a second time. Strips of shells from a different pocket were quickly loaded. The Professor knew there was no way Yang had expended all of her shells from the first reload, and she began to consult her scroll.

Scanners in the arena tracked all manner of factors in battle for later review by the teaching staff, including Dust expenditure. Of course, Professor Goodwitch didn't need those readings to tell her Yang had just loaded shells with full battle-loads of Dust, or that Weiss had removed all throttles on Myrtenaster's Dust use. When Yang landed a blow and fired, there was an appreciable new depth to the echoing boom that rumbled across the arena. The vibrancy and crispness of the glyphs that Weiss used showed that she was holding nothing back either. As she watched a new glyph in searing blue flipped gravity for Weiss to turn the impact of Yang's blow into mere impetus for a stance reversal and riposte. Goodwitch spared a glance up at Ozpin in the stands for guidance from her superior, but the headmaster was simply watching the fight in fascination, leaning forward on his cane.

In the end, it was Yang who walked from the battle, disarming Weiss when she got the heiress on the wrist with Ember Celica, then knocking her to the ground with a haymaker. The lights came on instantly, Glynda taking no chances. Weiss slapped at her thigh angrily as she looked up and saw her aura sitting in the red, alongside Jaune's and Aurea's. Both of these two students began to get back to their feet to rejoin their classmates now that the fight had ended.

"Thank you, ladies, gentleman, that was very impressive," said Glynda as she swiftly strode into the midst of the quartet, ready to restrain any hotheads.

But there was little ill-will as Yang extended a hand to Weiss, who sighed with resignation and waved it off, standing on her own. "Good job, Yang," she conceded.

"You too, Ice Queen," laughed Yang, getting a look.

Jaune slapped Yang on the back, saying, "That was awesome, guys. Especially you, Weiss, you were amazing. The way you got up after Yang blindsided you was crazy, I thought you were out of the fight for sure!" The ivory-haired girl just rolled her eyes at him. She was quite annoyed with herself that she hadn't defeated Jaune before Yang could intervene.

Aurea, who had regained consciousness after only a few seconds of being rendered insensible by the rapid loss of aura, joined them gingerly. She had watched the final act of the battle with interest. "That was an experience," she stated flatly. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

"Miss Xiao-Long, Mr Arc, congratulations on your victory," said Glynda. "Mister Arc, again, please keep an eye on the aura levels, for yourself and others."

"Yes, ma'am," said Jaune sheepishly.

"Miss Perrault, please come see me for more detailed feedback after class," continued the Professor. "You too, Mister Arc," she added, highlighting the two students who had been the weakest and thus needed the most work. She turned to Weiss and Yang. "I noticed you two competed to a very high level against each other. That was good to see, if a little nerve-wracking for us in the audience."

Yang waved a hand nonchalantly, grinning sideways at Weiss. "Gotta go hard or go home, Professor," she said.

Professor Goodwitch dismissed Weiss and Yang with promises of sending written feedback to their student email accounts. The girls and boy returned to the gallery, with Yang and Weiss getting high-fives from an ebullient team leader. Weiss rolled her eyes at the younger girl's foolishness but played along. Partially shellshocked Aurea returned to her partner and was surprised to get a sympathetic hug from Melanie, but grinned wryly and laughed it off.

Below them Glynda went to her scroll again, and then called out Velvet's name. When asked who she'd like to face, she smiled and said, "I want to fight Blake."

Blake sat bolt upright, turning away from Ruby's antics to face the rabbit faunus. Her golden eyes narrowed suspiciously, but there wasn't much she could say to get out of it. Instead she silently drew her sword and leapt down into the arena. Velvet blinked and then scrambled after her, expanding Wishbearer into full size as she landed. Neither paid any particular attention as Glynda laid down some ground rules.

"You may begin when ready," invited Glynda.

For a moment, the two girls stared at each other from across the arena floor. Blake had sword and cleaver-like sheath out and ready before her. Velvet's long staff was in both hands, her aura and will ready to trigger the psychoreactive dust in her weapon in a flash. The cat faunus was the first to pounce, and she drove into the fray, steel gleaming wickedly. Velvet exploded into light, throwing off dazzling bursts of glass formations.

Blake's shadow clones decoyed left and right, throwing off Velvet's aim as she approached, darting past searing bolts and bursts of powerful Dust Magery. As strong as Velvet was, Blake had a vicious cunning that her earnest foe did not have. It was a keen edge she had forged for herself at great, bitter cost. Acquiring that edge had given her memories she'd do anything to forget, woke her up at strange hours of the morning in a cold sweat, and had eventually turned her whole life upside down on a cliff face near the edge of the Foreverfall Forest. But what it had earned her was a prowess in battle that few could withstand.

The two girls strove with each other, sword versus stave, shadow-clones vying with all the tricks of a Dust Mage. Blake would strike in at the girl, a brutal windmill with sword following cleaver-sheath, and Velvet would parry it and then unleash a powerful blast of energy. But all she would hit was an ephemera, and the real Blake was back on the attack. Their battle filled the air with the pained screech of grinding metal, the whip and crack of Blake's ribbon, and the high-pitched sizzle of 'magic'.

Velvet fought with dedication, skill and a prodigy's talent. Her staff was fast, ever-present while her semblance scorched the arena, even catching Blake with a beam of coherent light that slammed her into the far wall. But Blake had learned her craft in a far more unforgiving milieu than Velvet had. She rebounded from pain that would have stopped Velvet in her tracks, and when the fight ended, Blake was left standing, sword and sheath crossed on either side of her kneeling foe's neck.

The lights came on again and Velvet looked down with wide eyes at the cold steel on either side of her neck.

"Whoa…," muttered the rabbit faunus with wide, awe-struck eyes.

She hadn't truly fought Blake that day in the Foreverfall Forest, and she had never developed the healthy respect for her counterpart's prowess that the rest of her team possessed. She had that respect now.

"Well done, Miss Belladonna," congratulated Professor Goodwitch. "Your skill with the chain scythe is … remarkable."

Blake just nodded, sheathing her weapon and returning it to her back as she reversed away from Velvet slowly. With a maternal smile that did not extend to her eyes, Glynda ushered them back into the stands. The rabbit faunus girl kept looking up at her status display on the wall, shaking her head. She had burned through a third of her foe's aura, but only after being dropped into the red zone that started at twenty percent.

There was silence bar the murmuring of the audience. Rather than call forth her next pair of gladiators to the pit, Glynda was tapping away at her scroll's messenger app.

'_Well, that chain scythe technique certainly felt familiar. If Blake were a faunus, I'd be asking questions_,' the message read. She hit the transmit button and then glanced up at her senior, who was sitting forward, resting his elbows on his knees, deep in thought as he processed what he had seen. When his scroll beeped at him, he read Glynda's message and frowned. He began to tap out a message as she stood waiting below. He pressed a button and looked down to give his right-hand woman an unreadable look as he put the device back in his pocket. He turned and walked to the staff exit.

A new message popped up on Glynda's scroll, causing her to look up at her boss in no small confusion.

'[Ozpin, Headmaster] : _True. Thank you for inviting me to see your class. __Unfortunately, I have to go ask a few questions._'

* * *

><p>"Alright, so what did they do?" asked Melanie with an amused smirk. She was in high spirits after having won her own duel towards the end of the sparring class. Her elbow blades had given her exactly the flexibility she had needed to compete against opponents with better length.<p>

Pyrrha sighed as she sat upon the desk chair in the team MAVM dorm room. Melanie's teammates were arrayed around her, either sitting on Miltia's adjacent bed, or standing in Aurea's case. The twin in red was very distracted seeming, as Alice was off being checked over by the nurse after the end of her sparring match. Jaune was with them, standing at Pyrrha's side.

"Alright, long story short, Ruby has told me that the White Fang tried to assassinate Weiss," said Pyrrha, laying it out in the open. A ripple of shock went through the group, and the smile on Velvet's face disappeared in an instant. "Weiss and Ruby were out together, and we were in the area when this happened, but we didn't see the fight itself, only the aftermath."

After a brief silence, Melanie stirred. "And what was the aftermath like?"

Jaune looked away and coughed awkwardly. "Yeah, kinda gruesome, ya know," he admitted. Jaune began to explain as much of the situation as he knew, finally capping the explanation by saying, "For what it's worth, I think Ruby's telling the truth."

Velvet moaned and looked away, rubbing at her face as her ears dipped. Miltia looked over in surprise, and asked, "I thought you hated the Fang?"

"I do hate the White Fang!" protested Velvet. "You can't expect me to be happy about Ruby and Weiss killing faunus people, though!"

Melanie stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Do you think Ruby is becoming a danger to herself or others?"

"A danger? She's our friend," protested Jaune.

"I think Ruby is a lot stronger than we thought," replied Pyrrha with a more thoughtful response. "I wouldn't say we have seen anything to suggest she's going off the rails."

"Alright," said Melanie with a sigh and a frown. "We'll have our meeting and…"

"Actually, before you do," said Velvet slowly. "The White Fang is notorious for using the same sort of observation drones they use here at Beacon. There'll be footage floating around in the underground somewhere."

"You think?" asked Jaune in surprise, to which Velvet nodded.

Pyrrha and Melanie exchanged a look. "Okay… Well, if you can get your hands on that, we certainly could," said Jaune, trying not to sound as unsure as he felt.

"So we hold off on the disciplinary meeting until Velvet gets the footage," suggested Melanie.

"Give me about two weeks. If I haven't got it by then, then the White Fang has covered up the footage and no one will find it," answered Velvet.

* * *

><p>Weiss tossed her textbook onto her bed in frustration. It was becoming impossible to stay awake and focus. Caffeine wasn't cutting it and she needed to finish this intolerable chapter. Who cared about Vacuo military history anyway? But it was on the curriculum, so study it she must.<p>

"Still banging your head into a wall?" asked Yang aloud, not looking up from the book she had borrowed from Blake.

With a groan Weiss glanced up at her teammate. She had honestly been shocked to see Yang reading. Of course, she had a sneaky suspicion from the slight flush and parted lips she sometimes saw on the girl's face it wasn't exactly dry, dusty fare.

"As a matter of fact, yes," complained the heiress.

"Why bother?" asked Yang. "You'll pass anyway."

"Passing grades may be fine for some people, but I want my A," retorted Weiss with a dismissive wave.

Yang sighed aloud. "Of course you do. Try going for a walk outside?"

"A walk," repeated Weiss, glancing out their window. "Hmph." She glanced down at her books and rolled her eyes. She got up from the bed and picked up Myrtenaster by reflex and walked to the door.

Blake walked into the room from the bathroom. "Where are you off to?" she asked in surprise.

"I have decided I need a walk to clear my head," she declared regally.

"Sure," said Blake, glancing up in surprise at Yang as the blonde girl snorted.

"Hey, if you see my sister out there," said Yang, "Tell her to get her butt back here already. She's overtraining."

"That I will certainly do," agreed Weiss as she left the room.

The heiress left their dorm and made her way out through the corridors until she exited through the luxuriously appointed entry hall of the building. The moment she stepped outside the chill night air hit her like a slap. A shiver ran right up her spine, making her eyes go wide. It certainly woke her up and cleared her mind, just as Yang had suggested. Weiss tightened up her jacket and picked a direction at random and began to walk.

The Beacon Academy campus was well-lit and very secure, if unobtrusively so. Weiss made her way around the bright, paved commons, past the dining hall and library. Others were out and about as well: students, faculty, visiting Hunters and dignitaries. Everyone minded their own business and ignored others on their late night strolls. Weiss didn't have a particular course in mind, rather simply a time-frame. As such, it was a surprise to her when she ran into company.

She heard their voices as she stood before a vending machine, purchasing as healthy a drink as she could find without settling for water. Weiss sighed and dropped her left hand onto the hilt of her weapon, glancing at the near corner. Sure enough, the two Malachites with Alice in tow came into view, chatting merrily among themselves.

'_Clearly, I just haven't had enough bad luck lately_,' lamented the white-haired girl to herself as they walked over her way.

"Well, Miss Schnee, what a pleasure to run into you out here," greeted Alice as she immediately noticed the tyrant of the society scene.

"Weiss," greeted Melanie coolly, putting her hands on her hips as she walked, trying hard to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hey," said Milita as she folded her arms. "Out by yourself?"

"Girls," said Weiss off-handedly as she twisted off the cap of her new purchase. "Just out for a walk, quick break from studying," she explained.

"The Vacuo lessons?" asked Melanie with a handwave. "Pfft, not exactly helpful stuff."

"Ah, must be nice not having anyone other than yourself paying attention to your school transcript," needled Weiss. Melanie took on an angry flush, her brows knotting at the deliberate reminder of the Malachite girls' lack of a domestic situation.

"Ruby still studying?" asked Miltia with a quick glance about.

"I don't think she bothered to study at all," complained Weiss in a sudden burst of frustration as Miltia touched on the sensitive topic, making her forget about exchanging barbs with Melanie. "She's still out training somewhere, running scythe drills religiously."

"Do forgive, Miss Schnee," said Alice with a winsome grin. "But I must suggest that you will in future find in Ruby's mastery of her scythe drills more to appreciate than you will in your own understanding of the triumphs and reversals of Remnant's most lackadaisical army."

Weiss grimaced. "I'm well aware of that," she said before taking another drink. "But military history is not an elective, so I need my grades."

"Healthy drinks?" noted Melanie with a cocked eyebrow. "Why bother? You're a trainee Huntress; it's all kilojoules in, kilojoules out. You'll never get a figure if you don't give your body something to burn."

Weiss gave the girl a vile look as she took a long draught of her new drink. "You can't even imagine how uninterested I am," she retorted as she replaced the cap. "I'm a fencer, slim and flexible works for me. Besides," she said dismissively with a flick of the wrist, "People of taste prefer the elegant look to overstuffed figures." Melanie rolled her eyes, flicking her hair back.

Alice's eyes caught some movement to her left, and when she glanced that way she straightened up and stiffened. "Melanie, I do suspect you're about to receive Exhibit A for your theory," she said quietly. The other girls looked over in curiosity.

"Hey everyone!" intruded a new lively voice, bright and self-satisfied despite a tired vein.

"Hi Ruby," greeted Melanie idly.

"H-hey, Ruby," stammered Weiss as she gave her partner a wide-eyed look. '_So… Cookies in, cookies out, equals figure in_,' she thought to herself in surprise.

Miltia and Alice exchanged a startled look, before looking back at the team leader. Seconds passed before they could find anything to say. Ruby had been working hard, sweating away at her drills and exercises so intensely that her exercise tank top had become soaked through. As a result she had stripped off her tank top and was carrying it tied to the back-hooks of Crescent Rose, which was slung over her shoulder. Hard work and milk, the older girls realised, had been paying off in spades, because Ruby Rose was all but glowing with health, her body an exquisitely toned instrument, while her figure was showing clear signs that Yang's curves had come through her father's line rather than her mother's.

The girl walked up in her black sports bra, which was thankfully a recent purchase and mostly fit, but also her old red shorts that she had already more than filled out. It was far and away the least clothing that any of the other girls had seen Ruby in.

'_Guess that's why when Venus tried to bump into her she bounced off like she hit a wall_,' realised Weiss.

"How're you guys?" asked Ruby, giving Miltia and Alice a strange look for their reaction.

"Good," said Miltia in a quick, clipped voice, a sentiment quickly echoed by the others.

"Wow, Ruby, you've really been hitting the exercises lately," noted Melanie in surprise.

"Oh no, I've always kept up this sort of exercising," said Ruby. "My Uncle Qrow always drove me till I dropped."

"Well, it's paying off, you look as strong as an Ursa," said Melanie with a smile, getting a sharp look from Weiss.

"You look lovely, Miss Ruby, we should all have such dedication," said Alice gracefully.

Even as focused a girl as Ruby couldn't help but appreciate the compliment, and she cocked a hip and smiled broadly. "Thanks, Alice," she said.

Weiss' eyes went up and down Ruby's form almost without conscious thought. Alice hadn't been lying; to her classmates, the girl looked good enough to eat. '_What the hell am I doing?_' she thought to herself in surprise.

"Ruby, Yang said to tell you to head back to the dorm as soon as I saw you," Weiss found herself saying, rushing her words just slightly.

"Aww, come on," complained Ruby. "I'm heading back eventually."

Involuntarily Weiss glanced at Miltia, who was looking back at her with her lips curled provocatively. "She insisted. And I think she's right; you're overtraining, go get some sleep?" Weiss knew what she was doing, of course. She wanted to get Ruby far, far away from Miltia and Alice's eyes. But she didn't understand the why, and the jealous burn in her chest confused her mightily.

"Fine, fine," grumbled Ruby before starting to walk. "See you, guys."

When Ruby had receded from earshot, Alice turned to Weiss. "My my, Miss Schnee, you have been sitting on something special. Was that jealousy in your voice I heard when you sent her forth?"

"Don't start, Alice, you know I'm not into girls," dismissed Weiss with an angry edge to her voice. The moment she heard that burr in her voice though, she winced. It was a lapse that would look like blood in the water to society-experienced Melanie and Alice. Sure enough, both girls gave her that little haughty look that said they had noticed her weakness.

Melanie smirked that little trademark of hers and turned to her twin. "I bet you're regretting taking the high-road on Sunday, sis. One crook of your finger and you could have had _that_ entwined in your sheets."

Weiss's eyes went wide as saucers and she almost gave herself whiplash turning toward Miltia. "_What?_"

Miltia looked at Melanie sourly, not realising yet that her sister was trying to dig her claws into Weiss with her comments. "I told you already, she was a mess that I don't want to take advantage of. And despite her post-workout cheer, I doubt she's gotten her head on straight yet."

The Schnee heiress looked at her Sgathan peer. "I take it that when Ruby told us all on Sunday she had gone to 'yell at Miltia', she was underselling things a little?" she asked in a voice that made Alice think of thunderclouds.

"Dear, oh dear," gasped Alice with a hand over her mouth, as if she was mortified and not deliriously delighted. "Is that all she said?" An unpleasant lump formed in Weiss' stomach. "She crashed our lunch and pulled Miltia over the side of the building." From that introduction, Alice quickly went over the encounter as she had seen and overheard it, drawing an embarrassed flush from Miltia, who scuffed at the ground with her heels.

"It's just as well you refrained," said Weiss in as pleasant a tone as she could manage. In terms of being convincing, however, her amicable front fooled no one. "I don't think I would have reacted very well if you'd taken advantage of her."

"I don't need your threats, Weiss," said Miltia bluntly. "I have my own standards, thanks."

Alice sighed aloud. "It is almost a shame that you do, my dear. Miss Rose needs some sort of release, I feel."

"I'm sure that's not the case," argued Weiss.

Melanie laughed aloud, shaking her head. "Don't lie to yourself, Weiss, your friend is as red-blooded as the rest of us. Just because you don't like to think of her like that, doesn't mean it isn't true."

"I'm certain Miss Rose will soon resolve this matter for herself," said Alice pleasantly. "Very resourceful girl that she is. Not quite romantic, but such is the way of need." She glanced silently at her girlfriend and thought, '_And then hopefully she'll stop being interested in you, dear._'

"Wonderful," ground out Weiss, doing her best to control her reactions.

"Okay, we really need to get back to our dorms already," said Melanie as she checked her scroll. "Nice running into you, Weiss."

"Goodbye," said Weiss with a hooded look. But as the two Malachite girls left, Alice hung back, waiting for a moment to talk. "Alice," acknowledged Weiss, giving her a curious look.

When the Sgathan heiress was sure the other two girls were far enough away, she turned to Weiss and said quietly, "Weiss, please, when will you give this up and return to normal? It isn't like you."

"I surely hope you don't mean training to be a Huntress," asked Weiss darkly.

"Dear, you know of what I speak," replied Alice with an admonishing tone. "Not even a year ago, had a society neophyte like Melanie spoken so to you," she trailed off, shaking her head. "Why, I expect you would given her her own heart on a silver platter as an entree."

"You can't possibly be calling me too nice," said Weiss with wide-eyed surprise.

"You still have some of your edge, but you used to be _majestic_," exhorted Alice. "A Tyrant, a Queen, the whole society scene, boys and girls alike, loved you and feared you." She paused and then admitted, "I _adored_ you, Weiss. Myself, the others, we followed you across Vale, Atlas and Mistral hunting those faunus scum."

Weiss took a nervous step back. "Alice, don't…"

"That horrible matter in Mistral, your father … Weiss, when are you going to be one of us again? This isn't about being or not being a Huntress, of course."

"No, it's about cocaine, cruelty, and carnage," said Weiss quietly with ghosts in her eyes.

"Your soul was never meant to be this trammeled thing," urged Alice insistently as she reached up and slowly laced her fingers behind Weiss' neck. "You have made shackles for yourself; cast them aside."

"I don't think that would fit well with my new team," observed Weiss wryly with a glance aside, but her voice was thick with emotion. She looked down awkwardly. These words were like a siren's call to her, like the slow and steady pull of quicksand.

"Perhaps not Yang and Blake, but Miss Ruby has the instincts and charms for it," suggested Alice before grinning a little smokily. "Even if the dear thing would avoid the Special like the plague."

"Alice, I'm actually enjoying not being constantly, violently angry for a change," said Weiss softly. "I never would have stopped if my father hadn't threatened my enrollment, but now that I'm clean, I don't want to subject myself to that again."

"Don't you?" asked Alice with a bemused look. "Perhaps. But indulge my curiosity. Should I open the pommel cap of your weapon, and inspect the little capsule within, what would I find there?" Weiss looked away uncomfortably. "If you're so certain that you want to be boring and clean, why do you still keep your little vice with you at all times?"

When Weiss didn't reply, the blonde heiress walked away.

* * *

><p>The following day's sun was low in the sky at the Vale Airship Terminal when Yang and Blake disembarked with Yang's motorcycle. Whereas to the faculty a free-study period meant just that, a chance to students to be catching up on their study, to the student body it just meant free time. A chance to sleep in, to play around and generally do anything other than study. For the two girls helping wheel the powerful yellow-clad motorcycle down the ramp and across the staging yard, it was a chance to finally stay out late and explore.<p>

"I don't suppose I can have your helmet?" asked Blake as they finally got the bike clear of obstructions.

Yang laughed. "You sure? We might have to do some fancy driving if one of Vale's finest sees me without a helmet and wants to cause trouble." Blake gave her a look and Yang winked, tossing her the headgear. "First time?"

"Yeah," confirmed Blake. "I'm looking forward to it, but … you're a maniac, Yang, I'd like to have the helmet."

"Hey!" protested Yang. "Just you watch, we'll be safe as houses."

In truth, personal safety was only a fleeting concern. Blake was worried not about the health impacts of the high-speeds she was sure Yang had in mind, but the integrity of the bow on her head. Having her cat ears smooshed up against a helmet didn't sound very comfortable, but it was better than losing her bow halfway down the road and experiencing a truly awkward conversation. So on the helmet went, a simple skullcap with a strap that sat under her chin, but it would certainly keep the necessaries in place.

'_And who knows, if Yang gets too cocky with her riding, it might just be handy to have_,' she thought to herself with a smile.

Yang Xiao-Long swung a leg over the powerful machine with practiced ease before throwing an energetic look back at her partner. Her smile made Blake straighten up and catch her breath.

"Come on, babe, hop on," called the confident young brawler. Blake rolled her eyes and nimbly sprang into place behind Yang, settling in behind the other girl. Yang leaned back into her. "Remember, we're going to be going full throttle, so you," she said with a quick nudge, "Need to hold on tight as nails."

"Don't worry about me, I'm not letting go," dismissed Blake, giving the girl a look.

Yang snickered and started up the motorcycle, startling Blake with the powerful rumble that began to roll through her body. The engine roared and the faunus girl instinctively tightened her embrace just before a sudden burst of acceleration saw the bike careen across the staging yard and towards the carpark and the exit gates.

"_Whoa_!" yelled Blake in surprise as Yang sent them screaming out into traffic. The sensation was incredible, wind whipping through her hair, her stomach feeling like it was almost being shoved out her back, the vibrations running through her thighs and the feel of Yang on her chest. "Grimm and Dust, don't get us killed!" she yelled out against the wind, but Yang only laughed like a loon.

Yang was delighted to stretch her beloved bike's legs through the city streets. Well after close of business on a weeknight as it was, the city streets were largely quiet, letting the blonde girl weave across the asphalt, treating the traffic with disdain. Whenever there were police cars, Yang ghosted in and out of traffic, keeping her speed up while staying out of sight. Her passenger had been bemused upon realising what Yang was doing, but didn't comment on it. At one point they came by a convertible with a set of young men and women who waved and wolf-whistled as Yang rode by, blowing them a kiss as she went, hair flowing brilliantly.

Eventually they came to a set of red lights and settled down to a temporary halt. Yang twisted to throw a dazzling smile back at the girl who had been holding on for dear life.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Yang.

Blake nodded vigorously. "That was amazing," she said with eyes wide. In truth, it was enormously appealing to the animalistic side that lurked within every faunus. The speed, the power, the wind, it raised her senses to a fine edge. Her ears were twitching madly under the helmet.

"I'm your key to the city tonight, tell me what you want to see and I'll take you there," promised Yang ostentatiously.

Blake's lips curled into a ferocious grin as a host of Vale City based attractions and destinations out of her novels came to mind. "First up, I want to go to…"

* * *

><p>For two hours the partners went screaming across Vale, visiting landmark after landmark under the lights of the big city. Bumblebee was parked just outside the boundary of an inner city park that had been the site of a stirring duel in one of Blake's more cherished books. The faunus girl leaned back against the powerful machine and took it all in under the actinic lamplight. Yang was on the other side of the bike, leaning across it so she could talk to her partner. Chilly gusts made her locks shimmer and dance.<p>

"Where do you want to go next?" she asked.

"I think I'm done sightseeing," said Blake, before glancing over pensively. "But I would…"

"Anywhere ya want," encouraged Yang when Blake trailed off.

"I'd like to see this alley next to the toy store," said the faunus girl quietly, self-consciously rubbing at her arms. "Where Ruby and Weiss had their fight."

The blonde girl was silent for several seconds, before she nodded. "Okay. Bounty Toys ain't far." She straddled the bike again with ease and Blake hopped up behind her.

"Are you okay, Yang?" checked Blake after her partner's silence.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just ... creeped out a bit visiting somewhere lil' sis killed people," she muttered before starting the engine.

"We don't-"

"Nah, I want to see it," dismissed Yang. "Some of what Rubes told me about the fight seemed Nora-like. Over the top." The two girls exchanged a silent nod. With a quick squeeze of the throttle Bumblebee burst into motion, leaving the parking lot behind. They returned to the road and took off at high speed. Yang navigated the roads with seasoned ease, soon turning onto one of the boulevards that traversed Vale City.

After a little while riding along they came to an intersection. Blake could see that the further the boulevard stretched the brighter it became. Neon vertical signs stood out starkly against the dark buildings above the streetlights. When she glanced around she noticed that the cars alongside them at the intersection were much fancier, many sporting customisations.

Yang reached behind her and tapped Blake's leg. "Hey, Blake, it's starting to get a bit late, and after we go to Bounty Toys, there's still someplace I wanna show you. We're gonna take the direct route through Vale's red light district to save time," explained Yang calmly. "Should be fine, just keep your eyes peeled."

"For what?" asked Blake with a cocked eyebrow.

"Signal's not far away and there's plenty of students grinding, crime gangs, cops in a bad mood, all sorts of nonsense," explained Yang, ignoring her partner's sarcastic quip. "I'm kinda distinctive and there's plenty of people out there who'd like a rematch."

Blake gave her partner a look, one eyebrow cocked high. "Playing the bad girl, Yang?"

"Just a thrill seeker," replied the blonde with an ear to ear smile. The lights turned green and the bike roared from a standing start, streaking down the boulevard. "Alright, also a bad girl," yelled Yang over the thunderous noise. Blake watched on wide-eyed from the pillion as Yang made her way through the streets like a queen of the road.

Ten minutes later they pulled up safely to the side of the road outside Bounty Toys and Games. The alleyway was sealed off feebly, with a few strips of crime scene tape. Yang personally doubted the Police had done anything more than a token inspection, given the White Fang had been on the losing end of the encounter. A few notes would have been taken, handed on to a bored clerk, and then the matter considered closed. The Schnee Dust Company dispensed its own justice.

Blake hopped off the bike as Yang parked outside the alley. Yang joined her and together they stepped under the crime scene tape and walked towards the site of the carnage. They found the spot next to the little inner-urban park easily. It was, after all, almost impossible to miss.

"Grimm and Dust," breathed Yang. "She must have hit the ground like an anvil."

In the middle of the alley was a great circle of pulverised pavement where Ruby had made her opening gambit. The intense spiderweb of cracks and rubble expanded out from the epicentre for several meters in all directions, proof of the titanic blow Ruby had unleashed on her enemy. A dark burgundy colour stained much of the area.

"Dried blood," sighed Blake. "It's absolutely everywhere."

"These gouges in the ground could only be Crescent Rose," opined Yang. "Very few weapons could do that."

"I know she's strong enough, but it still messes with my head to see the evidence," said Blake looking around.

"So what do you think?" asked Yang as she wandered around the shallow crater.

"It matches up with her story," said the faunus girl slowly. "With how far the blood spattered, you can tell it was a … a catastrophic blow.

"I'm not sure whether I'm relieved or worried," noted Yang with a huff.

"So your sister has a bodycount," said Blake as she looked up at the roof.

"So?" challenged Yang. "She's still my sister."

"Ruby does scare me a little though," admitted Blake. "Ruby's style is deadly. All scythes are dangerous. But her style, semblance, and weapon combine into a lethal perfect storm. It's a colossal risk to fight against her and it scares me a little."

Yang's expression grew haunted as she looked off over Blake's shoulder. "I know. Ruby learned about death from a very young age. And Uncle Qrow taught her that there is a very fine difference between saving your loved ones and watching them die."

Blake could hear painful memories in Yang's voice, and fell silent.

"Well, at least you know that Ruby isn't just a victim waiting to happen alongside Weiss," pointed out Blake softly. "Strange to think two people died, right here," she said after a moment, touching the ground beside a great divot of cracked pavement. "Two misguided people…"

"At least it wasn't Ruby and Weiss," said Yang. "Yeah... Giving me goosebumps, honestly." She tilted her head at Blake. "Why did you want to come here?"

"I wanted to see for myself, to make sure Weiss and Ruby were above board." '_That's a lie, Blake, you're here because you knew you could have been one of these people_,' she accused herself silently.'_They may even have been people you've worked with._'

"You doubted Rubes?" asked Yang with a surprised look. "Why?"

"Weiss," corrected Blake. "I suspected Weiss. I was worried that she might have made Ruby cover for her." She straightened and folded her arms, shaking her head. "But this is clearly Ruby's handiwork. She's already so strong, but she's two years younger than us."

"Heh, you think it's strange for you?" asked Yang with a rueful chuckle. "It completely messes with my head to think my little sister, the girl I once hauled around in my wagon, is capable of…" She trailed off and then flapped her hands about to indicate the scene around them.

"Of course," allowed Blake.

Yang sighed and rubbed at her head. At that point her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had burned through a lot of energy with their earlier escape. "I need a snack."

"You're the local expert," pointed out Blake. "Or did you want to go back?"

"No!" protested Yang. "Too early to go back. There's a place that does really good wings, a block away. Interested?"

Blake was a white meat kind of girl usually, always looking to dine out on fish or poultry. The thought of wings nearly made her stomach rumble. She glanced over the grisly scene they stood in and sighed. "Yeah, wings sounds good."

"You okay, Blake?" asked Yang.

Blake made an expression that was half-smirk, half-grimace. "Yeah. I have my answers."

* * *

><p>A small stack of chicken wing bones was forming on a share plate as Blake and Yang worked their way through their late night snack. The bar was nearly empty as the two girls sat in a quiet corner with soft drinks and their wings.<p>

"So why did you want to become a Huntress?" asked Yang.

"Why?" repeated Blake, trying to earn some time to think.

"Yeah," said Yang. "It's a really high-risk industry and Grimm take no prisoners. It's not something you just stop and think, 'Hmm, I'll try that out for a while', like some kind of receptionist gig."

"I think what I want is red...," began Blake before trailing off. "Well. There's a lot of terrible stuff going on. Oppression, greed, corruption. I think a Huntress can make a difference. And I want to be someone who can try and change society."

"Noble," praised Yang with a grin. "More than me, anyway." The blond girl snorted and waved the thought away. "But I'm not interested in being noble. My sister has enough of that for the two of us, I think."

"What did you want from being a Huntress then?" asked Blake, leaning forward on the table and resting her cheek on her palm.

"Same thing I always want," replied Yang with a grin. "Excitement, action, battle, hunks, babes, everything in life that comes with an adrenaline kick and a racing pulse."

"There's more than that," prodded Blake. "There's a lot of ways to get a rush; you don't need to be in as dangerous a line of work as this."

Yang fell silent for a moment, turning her lilac eyes to gaze piercingly at her friend. After a few seconds she nodded and gave a little smile. "Yeah. Becoming a Huntress is one of the few ways left in Remnant to really get a fresh start."

"Like the Malachites?" followed up Blake.

"Aheh, I suppose so," admitted Yang. "I didn't always make the wisest choices when trying to get my thrills growing up." She shrugged as a dark shadow seemed to pass over her. "Me and Ruby both lack a bit of self-preservation." She tapped the table and tried to get out of the spotlight a little. "Have you enjoyed yourself tonight?" she asked. Blake broke into a rare smile and Yang felt a triumphant glow warm her.

"I did, I'm glad we came out," said Blake. "It was a real rush." She paused. "Is that it for the evening?"

"Nope," said Yang. "Told you already, one last stop."

Blake cocked her head and grinned. "Oh?"

Yang's grin nearly went ear to ear. "It's a secret."

"A secret?" repeated Blake in surprise. "Why a secret?"

"Because it's special," declared Yang. "And I don't want to spoil it for you."

"Well, alright," said Blake pensively. Swiftly though, her natural curiosity overcame her again. "...what is it?"

"A secret," said Yang again, shaking her head and grinning. "I told you. No asking."

Blake folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at her partner. "Right."

"You'll love it, don't worry," reassured Yang.

"Yang, what are you planning," said Blake in a low, dangerous tone.

"A se-"

"Secret, yes, thanks," interrupted Blake, shaking her head. A silence settled over them, with Yang perfectly pleased with herself and Blake rolling her eyes at the girl's antics. "Thanks for showing me around Vale," said Blake after a while. "I'll appreciate my books all the more now that I've actually seen these places. By the way, how are you finding the book I gave you?"

Yang all but cackled. "Good raunchy fun. And you're welcome," she added, folding her hands behind her head. "I had fun showing you around."

"Okay, last wing is mine," observed Blake. "After that, you show me this surprise place of yours before I die of curiosity."

Yang just gave her a smile so toothy and broad it would have impressed a shark.

* * *

><p>They had been riding for several minutes, through an area where rural hills intruded upon the city limits. They were undulating and wooded, leaving them to be populated by a smattering of free-standing houses and crisscrossed with winding roads. Yang took full advantage of this as Bumblebee roared down the lonesome nighttime roads. Blake held on for dear exhilarating life. The bike dipped perilously low as Yang cornered with ferocious intent. Gravity pulled her and her full stomach every which way as they rode.<p>

Yang finally eased off the throttle as they went down an unmarked road into a dense copse of trees. After a short time they found themselves in a small, packed dirt lot that bordered on a particularly steep drop down the hill, resulting in a lookout.

"Why are we stopping h… oh," said Blake as she noticed the view. "Ohhh," she whispered as she saw the night sky and the stars with the clearer air a little further out and higher from the city. And then she noticed the vast carpet of city lights laid out before her, all the towers of enterprise lit up like a cloud of fireflies. "_Ohhhh_."

Yang got part-way off the bike and shifted around until she had reversed her position, so that she was facing Blake. The faunus girl blinked at her partner as she found herself looking into lilac eyes that glimmered in the moonlight.

"_Oh!_"

Yang grinned a little sheepishly as Blake slipped her helmet off, laying it to rest upon her thigh. Her blonde hair flowed over her shoulder as she turned to look at the city lights herself. "You know," she said quietly, "We've been partners for a while now and I think that, even if you haven't told me much about yourself, that I know who you are, and what makes you tick, and where you're going."

"Wait, are you…?" blurted Blake in shock. '_God's horns, she's going to ask me out_,' she realised.

The other girl turned back and ducked her head, running her hand through her hair a little nervously. "Heh, well … look, if you want me to stop, tell me. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. Tell me you're not interested and I'll never speak of this again."

Blake fell silent and still, looking on with an intensity in her eyes. Her body hitched ever so slightly forward. She would have been embarrassed to know that Yang thought the posture akin to a cat just before the pounce.

After a few moments, Yang nodded. "I'll take that as a go ahead." She took a quick pause to gather up her thoughts and smiled. "We've faced all kinds of trouble together, and you've been a steadfast, loyal friend. You're smart and well-read, so much more than me. You're freakishly talented, but you don't rest on that, you work hard as well. I know you cherish our friendship, and that you rely on me, like I rely on you."

"You're making a love confession?" asked Blake in a distant, shocked voice.

That earned a good-natured laugh from Yang. "You know that's not what this is," she said, and she quickly carried on as Blake shot her a puzzled look. "You know me; I don't just fall in love easily. But I found myself thinking about you. Thinking that with you, maybe I could. I ... I want to find out."

"Y… you're really asking me out?" asked Blake, her eyes as wide as saucers. A mix of uncustomary giddiness and terror made her try and still her trembling hands.

"Yes, Blake, I really am," confirmed Yang with a cheeky, lopsided grin.

"I…," began the faunus girl before she swallowed and paused. Butterflies were running rampant through her stomach. "I knew you were open about gender but I didn't think … me?"

"Yes, you," said Yang with a beautiful smile. "We're good for each other. And I think you'd like to take a chance on me, too. Right?"

Blake hesitated before replying. If Yang were a faunus girl, she would have said yes without a second thought, but there was so much danger here. Humans, even humans that seemed so friendly, could turn out to be so stupid and cruel. But that smile could disarm an Ursa, and Blake let the tension out of her body and smiled back. "Right. So you want to find out if we can work. Even though we know we have four years ahead of us? Long time to be in a team with an ex-girlfriend," she pointed out.

"I'd rather try and fail, than always wonder. I have to dare," declared Yang boldly.

"I know, Yang," replied Blake. "I think…," she said before pausing to gin herself up. The blonde girl didn't even breathe as she waited. "I think I'd like to find out as well."

Yang's smile was irridescent, something that would outshine the sun above. In her giddiness, her aura was beginning to stir, her hair taking on a more literal glow. She leaned forward, eyes still open, head tilting in for a first kiss.

"W-wait!" stammered Blake anxiously.

"Blake!?" blurted Yang as she reared back in surprise.

"I can't … it wouldn't be right to you…," said Blake choppily, her anxieties and fears rearing up hard. She had just realised what accepting this meant and the implication frightened her.

"Oh," said Yang, low and slowly, her face falling. "I underst-"

"Let me finish!" demanded Blake. "Don't just cut me off, let me finish."

That got the blonde girl's attention by the scruff of the neck. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she sat up straighter and held up her hands, palm out. "Whatever you wanna tell me, Blake, I'm listening," she said earnestly.

"Not tell you, but show you," explained Blake. "It's only right to tell you upfront, because for some people it's a deal-breaker." Yang raised an eyebrow high, and Blake could all but see cogs turning behind lilac eyes as different possibilities were brought up. The dark-haired girl sighed. "I suppose it's useless to try and get you to promise not to judge. But perhaps … perhaps of all humans … you I can trust."

When the word 'humans' passed Blake's lips, Yang's eyes went wide as the moon above. '_Oh fuck, she couldn't be…!?_' thought the brawler. But before her eyes, her partner reached up for the bow upon her head and swiftly untied the ribbon. Cat ears with a dark purple felt stood prominently up on her raven-hued hair.

"Oh my god," breathed Yang, shocked with herself that she had never realised before.

"I tell no one this," said Blake in little more than a whisper. "You've seen what Velvet has faced first-hand, even at Beacon. But, I want to try this with you, so you're going to find out. The ribbon may be proof against eyes, but it's not going to do any good against your touch. Do you understand why I've hid this?"

"Yes," said Yang, solemn as she knew from interacting with other faunus how important this was for Blake.

"Are … are you still interested?" asked Blake anxiously.

"You're safe with me, Blake," said Yang, breaking into a foolhardy grin. "Yes, I'm still interested. Every bit as much."

Blake was hesitant at how well Yang was reacting, waiting for the other shoe to drop. "You'd be okay with dating a faunus girl?" she asked. "I can't guarantee it won't come out."

Yang put her hands up on Blake's shoulders reassuringly. "Oh, Blakey, my old hangout was mixed, there were a lot of faunus there. It was never a problem for me. And I've been used to the social backlash of dating across the fur-lines," she said confidently, unafraid of any social opprobrium. But just as Blake began to smile, Yang went completely, ghostly, white, terror on her face.

"My old hangout," she whispered, before closing her eyes, all but shaking with sudden fear. "O-Okay, Blake, you felt you had to open up about who you were so I knew what I was getting into," she said, anxiety clear in her voice.

"Yang, what is this about?" asked Blake uncertainly.

"I need to be fair to you, because some of what I used to do was …. controversial in the faunus community," said Yang slowly, not wanting to jump straight to the point.

"What are you talking about, Yang," demanded Blake intensely.

"I'm talking about some of those unwise decisions I've made over the last few years, and the fresh start I've been looking for," explained Yang.

Blake stared at her, wanting her to get to the point.

"Do you remember, in the debate on Monday," said Yang, gesturing anxiously with her hands, "When Aurea was getting into me about having an experience with the White Fang that I wouldn't admit to?"

"Yes, and that you asked me not to pry into," began Blake before pausing. "Have you killed White Fang?" she asked, jumping to a conclusion.

"Uh, no," said Yang with a blush. "In fact, kind of the opposite. Aurea wasn't just bringing up her topics randomly, she was needling me with what she knew." Blake waited for her silently, and Yang ginned herself up and admitted, "I was every bit as criminal as the Malachites. I spent years running Dust as a White Fang sympathiser."

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Okay, aiming for something shorter for the next installment to help get it out the door in time. Chapters of this size can be pretty draining. Let me know if you like the direction things are going in (or if you don't). Thanks for reading this chapter, I know it's lot to swallow in one sitting!**


	10. Embracing Thorns

**A/N: Okay, started working on side projects, but before I could finish those first chapters, this thing called me back. So this all took rather a lot longer to get out than I had expected. Doesn't help there's only a modicum of combat in this one, since I can produce battle scenes at a frightening pace. Now originally in the chapter plan, there was a big centrepiece battle, but this part became far larger than expected when I actually got around to writing it, and the transition into the battle was too jarring. So, that will not be the premise of Ch 11 and this becomes its own chapter. Honestly, I think it worked out better this way, because it gives this chapter a much tighter premise.**

**There is a note regarding the opening two scenes in the author's note at the end of the chapter, so if you read the first two scenes and go 'wtf!?', do read the note at the end.**

**Thanks to everyone for their patience. Writing, editing and proofing these chapters takes a lot of effort and time, so I don't get to update to a set schedule like I would love to be able to do. Scene five, in particular, was the product of no fewer than three distinct re-writes. Makes for a "it's done when it's done" approach.**

**Massive thanks to my proof-readers, which are my wife, SLtheThird, and Leviticus Wilkes. Also thanks to my readers as we've hit the 12,000 view mark and the 100 follows mark between chapters. I'm hugely grateful to everyone out there who has read, reviewed, fav'd or followed!**

**All feedback welcome, I do try and reply to all reviews. Enjoy!**

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><p>Well, today was the day. It had been arranged the night before through a series of furtively typed out text messages that had winged their way through the aether between the dorms, hidden from prying eyes. Prying eyes like the Schnee blues or Malachite greens. Everything had lined up nicely for them. Everyone else in their class was back in their dorms after the mid-morning lecture to prepare for a Bullhead ride out into the wild with Professor Port. But all the other first-years would be off at lectures until lunch time, two hours from now.<p>

So all Ruby Rose had to do, was to leave her dorm without arousing suspicion. Easier said than done.

"Are you two sure you got enough sleep?" asked Ruby worriedly as she looked up from where she was putting away the supply of red Dust Weiss had recently donated her. The team leader had been custom packing her own rifle rounds, a practice she had adopted recently at her partner's suggestion.

Yang laughed at her, waving aside the concern. "Come on, Ruby, we were back barely after midnight and we got to sleep in," she reassured. The blonde girl turned towards her partner and the playfulness in her look faded, replaced with an odd thoughtfulness. She opened her mouth to say something, but stayed mute. Blake looked back at her with a raised brow over a honeyed eye. Yang blushed and turned away quickly to face Ruby again.

"Have you got new shell strips yet?" followed up Ruby, not noticing the silent exchange. "You've gone through a few of them this week with sparring and training."

Her big sister turned and gave her a bemused look. "Of course, sis, I've been doing this for ages," she explained. The brawler paused and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What's up with the checklist?"

"I've got to go run errands in a little while," explained Ruby in a perfectly earnest voice. "I'll be meeting you guys on the platform, so I wanted to make sure my team was ready for action!"

"Ah, okay, Rubes," accepted Yang. She fished into a bag of gear that sat on the floor next to her bunk. From it she withdrew and held up a fistful of shotgun shell strips to display for her sister. "All set!" she proclaimed.

"Me too," volunteered Blake quietly, looking up from her bed. The faunus girl had been trying and failing to read a book, constantly losing her concentration from paragraph to paragraph as she glanced up to look speculatively at Yang. The blonde had begun to notice the looks and felt her cheeks redden again.

"Alright, Team RWBY is on the ball," declared the young leader as she finished stowing her Dust and ammo. She grabbed a backpack and set it on the communal desk.

"You're not going to ask me?" asked Weiss quietly from where she sat on the edge of her bunk, next to Ruby.

Ruby turned to her partner and smiled. "Weiss, you're always organised," she explained. "If even you can get into a muddle, the rest of us may as well all give up now."

Weiss blinked in surprise and didn't know what to say. She ran her hand through her ivory ponytail self-consciously, but she was secretly thrilled to have been recognised that way by Ruby. Her enjoyment was slightly curtailed but by no means extinguished by Yang laughing and making a joke to Blake. Though she couldn't actually make out what was said, she felt self-consciously sure it was aimed at her. "Well, of course," she heard herself say in response to her leader eventually. Inwardly she cringed that that was the first thing she had thought to say.

The girl in the red hood suppressed a giggle at the arrogant reply. "I'll take that as a yes, you're ready," she declared as she began to stuff her battle dress into her backpack. As she zipped up the bag she looked at Weiss. "Did you want to go into Vale again this weekend?"

"I'd love to," said Weiss, "But I have an event in the city my father is forcing me to attend on his behalf. If it was something I thought you'd find interesting I'd have asked you along already," she lamented.

"Aw, rats," complained Ruby earnestly, folding her arms.

"Yeah, I know. Remember, I'm still entitled to take you to dinner," pointed out Weiss. "That's still happening." A flash of memory bolted through her mind and before her normal good sense could restrain her tongue she added, "And get you some new exercise shorts, Miltia was staring at your old ones."

Ruby blinked in shock and reared up, but it was Yang who spoke first. "So?" she said with an amused snort.

"Of course _you_ wouldn't see that as a problem, Yang, you dress like that all the time," sighed Weiss, even as she inwardly pleaded with herself, '_Stop digging, please stop digging_.' When she saw her team leader hoist her bag upon her shoulder, Weiss began to fidget uncomfortably. "Ruby?" she prodded.

"I'm sure she was just rolling her eyes at the state of them," deflected Ruby. As much as she knew it wasn't true, for some reason she just didn't want to suggest to Weiss that she understood; certainly not that she was pleased by the thought! There was something about making that admission to Weiss that gummed up the words in her chest.

"Melanie would be the sort to do that," interrupted Yang as she rolled her eyes. "But if it was Miltia, then I bet she was getting an eyeful." She smirked with an easy grace, but something dangerous sparked in the depths of her lilac eyes. "Well, if she's only going to look, then whatever. But if she touches then I'll-"

"Yang," admonished Blake with a word, getting an instant freeze from the vivacious student. The chastised girl saw Ruby with her hands fixed upon on her hips, a dangerous look on her face.

"...I'll let you take care of yourself because that's what we promised," finished Yang in an awkward rush, rubbing at the back of her head uncomfortably. "Sorry, older sibling instincts." She couldn't see it, but she knew Blake was shaking her head at her behind her back. Yang's smile twitched slightly.

Ruby gave her sister an admonishing look with hands on hips. "Yang Xiao-Long," she addressed, voice sharp. "That sounded suspiciously like the start of a Dad moment. Do you mean to tell me that you have already forgotten our talk?"

"N-no," protested the older sister, holding up her hands.

Ruby leaned in towards her sister, not noticing the wide-eyed looks Blake and Weiss were giving her. "You promised, remember. If something, or someone, turns out to be a mistake, then fine. But it's _my_ mistake to make, and I can live with that. Can you please try and respect that?"

Silence fell over the room for several seconds as the two sisters held each other's gaze. Weiss looked on anxiously, while Blake observed from behind her the cover of her book.

"Okay, Rubes," sighed Yang, trying to ignore the niggling suspicion her sister had her eye on some massive mistakes already.

Blake looked back up from her book upon hearing the distressed note in Yang's voice. "It doesn't really matter, does it? Miltia is already going out with Alice, right?" Her eyes went wide and she regretted speaking up when the other three girls swiveled to look at her.

Weiss was the first to speak up. "They're not actually exclusive. That Miltia is a total commitment-phobe, according to Alice." She rolled her eyes. "So Alice is there, hoping they'll become an exclusive item eventually. It wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't blow up in Miltia's face at some point."

That little revelation caused Blake to glance at one of the more risque books in her collection. "I … I see," she muttered.

Anxious to get a move on, and short circuit the conversation before it grew any more dangerous for her, Ruby walked towards the door. Just prior to reaching it she paused and glanced at Weiss, who was regarding her pensively. "Is your dad's stuff going to tie you up for the whole weekend?" she asked.

"No, I guess Friday is clear but…," trailed off Weiss.

"But what?" was the reply.

"I may get more White Fang attention with the SDC event on," she admitted. "I don't want to risk putting you in that danger again."

The young leader smiled, part-patient, part-sad. Her strong, calloused hand settled on Weiss' shoulder. "If you're in danger there, then that's where I want to be," she declared.

The team leader gave her partner one last smile laced with cookies and innocence and then left, backpack over her shoulder. She looked back once, at the last moment before disappearing around the corner, a fleeting flash of silver. Weiss stood there for a few seconds after that, a touch of frost upon her spirit. After that she turned to look at her other two team-members with a piercingly shrewd look. '_Alright, Ruby got away, but you two have been acting odd since you came back_,' she thought to herself, '_Time to find out what's going on._'

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><p>Out in the hallway, Ruby was walking quickly down the carpeted paths. She made her way around the corner, moving through the dorm building as she looked for an unfamiliar door. She passed team MAVM's room, where Nora and Aurea were talking by the entrance. What those two would have to talk about Ruby could only guess, though whatever it was they were quite animated. Nora tried to get her to stay to join the conversation, but Ruby begged off and walked on; places to be, errands to run after all.<p>

When she turned another corner and counted three doors on her right, she stopped and knocked. It was a nervous wait, glancing at the corner while hoping no one walked around it. "Come on, come on…," she muttered under her breath, before sighing in relief as she heard the door unlock. The great hardwood door swung slowly open. "Alice."

"Miss Ruby," greeted the girl at the door with a cheshire smile. "Please come in."

Ruby smiled back, an absolutely illicit thrill coursing through her. Several months ago, this would have been nothing out of the ordinary for her. Except, of course, the girls she knew at Signal certainly looked nothing like this society heiress. Alice was in a silk, royal blue mini-dress with spaghetti straps and barefoot in the comfort of her own dorm. She still wore her pretty, silver pendent, now nestled at the top of her breasts.

"Morning," greeted Ruby, the slightest husky note in her voice courtesy of her nerves. She dropped her backpack at the foot of the bed she presumed was Alice's. Ruby figured the presence of a long case labelled "Cheshire Silver" beside the bed was a good clue as to who it belonged to. As she heard Alice close and lock the door behind her, she looked over the wall behind the girl's bed-head, eyes first catching on a couple of more risque glamour shots of celebrity singers or huntresses she had pasted up.

Alice glided up behind her smoothly, her presence raising tiny hairs on the back of the younger girl's neck. The blonde girl's hands slipped in under Ruby's blazer and smoothly slid the garment off.

"I wondered if you would follow through," mused Alice. "I'm very glad you did. I'm far too competitive to ever enjoy losing a duel, but if I had to lose one, this wasn't a bad one for it." Ruby looked over her shoulder at the taller girl, her eyes wide and shimmering. "And maybe," mused Alice as she returned the look. "Maybe it will turn out to be a _good_ one to have lost. We shall see," she whispered.

The girl leaned in and Ruby shivered as blonde locks fell across her. Alice's right hand came up under her chin, the other sliding around her waist. Ruby closed her eyes as she was kissed, melting in the embrace. Her arms snaked up and her fingers combed through the gorgeous, golden hair above. '_Her hair's so soft…,_' she thought to herself. It was just a taste at first; her lips were parted for a moment, and then Alice was gone. But Ruby pulled her back into the embrace and they kissed again, long seconds slipping languidly by in the stillness of the room.

Finally they parted again and Ruby turned to face Alice as the other girl stepped away. For a moment she panicked as the older girl turned her back, but she needn't have worried. Alice put a hand to her own lips and twirled for a moment, the loose skirt of her dress flaring liquidly with the motion.

"Oh, oh, you kiss like her, you kiss like my Millie," breathed Alice as her eyes sparkled. "You're so young, wherever did you learn how to kiss like this?" she demanded as she came to a halt, facing Ruby.

The dark-haired girl laughed self-consciously, running a hand through her hair. "Well, I had plenty of practice, at Signal you see," explained Ruby with a little curl of embarrassment across her cheeks.

"Just so?" mused Alice, as she began to circle around her lady caller. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her legs poised and balanced like a ballerina as she side-stepped. She leaned in, blue eyes sparkling, cheshire smile taunting and enticing. "You didn't learn that in the Academy classrooms," she contended.

Ruby blushed and shrugged. "Aha, well, actually, I did learn some of it in classrooms," she admitted. "Not while the faculty were there, though…" She looked up at Alice and pushed away some of her nerves, relaxing slightly. "Been a while, so, I'm glad I haven't, uh, lost my touch."

With her back to the bed, Alice stopped circling, and stepped back, dragging the youth into her wake. "Do not fear that, Ruby. To be quite honest, you curled my toes." A devilish little snicker escaped her lips. "And to think I had worried that this would be an awkward juvenile fumble. Or that I would have to play the teacher to your eager student," she said, finishing smokily.

The dark-haired girl said nothing, just watched Alice's eyes intensely as her fingers nimbly unbuttoned her vest. The encumbering garment was tossed to the foot of her bed, leaving her in her uniform skirt and white shirt. She stepped next to Alice, looking up at the girl with a wicked heat in her gaze.

"Tell me how far I can go," asked Alice lyrically. "Petting session is a _touch_ ambiguous, you know."

"One of the girls in my circle used to describe it as making out, but with hot sauce," explained Ruby with a smile as an air of mischief seemed to wind around her. She stepped into Alice and put her hands on the girl's waist, tucking in just where the valley began to swell out. It was a firm and confident touch and the older girl's breath caught in surprise.

'_I've been here before_,' Ruby told herself. '_In this first enchantment, with Bistre, with Viridia, with a dozen girls. Older girl, younger girl, I know what I'm doing. Even if none of them were built like Alice … or Miltia._' A curious little quirk slipped through her mind, and she thought, '_Some of them were built like Weiss though_.'

Startlement swept Alice's face as Ruby pulled her in tight. She could feel the heat of the girl's body suffusing her, a lovely fire that flickered and twisted within, leaving her wanting more. It wasn't a dominant touch, nor a submissive one. Rather, as Ruby rose up onto her toes and leaned in, Alice recognised it as an inviting touch. She swiftly accepted the silent offer and leaned in to meet her halfway, raising her hands to cup the other girl's cheeks.

The kiss meant nothing. Ruby knew she would walk out of this room and that would be the end of the matter. A transactional tryst, an affair for the simple pleasure. A win-win for both girls.

Yet the kiss meant everything. Ruby felt the chains of her anxiety bend, contort, snap. It was such a simple joy; the soft lips, the soft figure, the soft bed beneath them as they slowly descended to sit upon it. Months had passed in her Beacon-induced dry spell. For a girl well-used to contact and intimacy and who had relied upon it to unshackle herself from her stress and guilt, it had been a bitter moratorium.

A joyous shiver passed through Ruby as Alice's fingertips fluttered across the back of her neck. The older girl broke the kiss and leaned across to nip at her earlobe while Ruby freed her hands to wander, one drifting up her back, the other sliding down, cupping under the back of Alice's thigh. Together they overbalanced and fell sideways onto the mattress. Ruby pushed aside the curtain of blonde hair and kissed her again, sliding above her.

Time warped and frayed as they embraced atop the sheets. For Ruby the experience was like slipping in and out of a dream. She would lose herself to the lips and then slowly crest the surface once more when she came up for breath. Nothing was rushed and she let herself flow lazily alongside her temporary partner. The silk of Alice's dress felt magical to Ruby as her hands glided across it with playful intent. The dark-haired girl murmured and whispered something that Alice was sure was another girl's name as she dragged a gentle trail of kisses across her neck.

And then Alice was pulling her up from the sheets. Ruby was in her lap, thighs on either side of the blonde girl's waist. When it was her shirt had become unbuttoned, she could not say. For that matter, which of them had pulled Alice's arms free of her dress straps was also a mystery. Both topics seemed entirely uninteresting compared to the teeth that nipped at her collar.

"Easy, Alice," she murmured, but the older girl only laughed sultrily and then her lips were at Ruby's neck. "Haah!" Her hand fell low on Alice's collar, offering a less-than-half-hearted protest as she felt the girl tease at her neck. "You're going to get me into so much trouble," whimpered the dark-haired girl.

"Just wear your hood a little tighter," offered Alice as she shifted places on the girl's neck. "I can't help myself," she purred wickedly.

Ruby groaned as cushiony lips worked back along her neck, finally hitching her weight forward and dragging Alice back down to the mattress. Alice gasped and laughed, until Ruby claimed her lips again. As they had all morning, they took and ceded the lead in their little dance, neither ruling the other, but rather both tumbling together throughour. Once more things began to drift out of time and space for Ruby, leaving her with just an awareness of heat and blissful sensation. She simply let go and slipped into the passing river as it bore her along.

This luxurious jettisoning of responsibility was cruelly cut short with a ferocious buzzing from her scroll, which she had at some point put upon the bedside table. Ruby groaned in utter dismay, knotting her hands against the sheets. Alice twisted around and dropped down alongside her, laughing.

"You should probably listen to it this time," suggested Alice in a breathless whisper.

"This time?" asked Ruby in surprise.

"Well, yes," said Alice with a perplexed expression. "You snoozed the last alarm. Don't you remember?"

Ruby sat straight up in bed, eyes wide with alarm and a surge of adrenaline cutting through the lustful fog. "Oh no…," she groaned, hopping up and grabbing her backpack. "Mind if I borrow your bathroom to change?"

"Be my guest," offered Alice as she sat up and began to try to sort out the tangle of her silk dress. The girl hopped up and disappeared through the bathroom door. Alice stood up and exhaled deeply. "Well," she said aloud to herself, "That was unexpectedly entertaining. It would appear I made the right choice."

Alice walked over and sat on the bed on the far end of the room. "Tell me, Ruby," she called through the door between them. "Is Weiss buying your clothes?"

"What?" came the muffled reply. "Yeah, some of them." There was a pause and then an irritable, "Oh my god, Alice, I'm never going to be able to hide these hickeys. Ugh. Anyway, why do you ask?"

"Well, you see," mused Alice. "You don't seem like the sort of girl to hunt down eight thousand Lien dresses."

There was a stunned pause. "Is _that_ how much that dress cost?"

"From memory, yes," replied Alice. "I'm fancy weapons more than fashion, I'll have you note, but I do know my designers like any good society girl. For that matter, the fact you have a three thousand Lien bra yet fifty Lien knickers, well, clearly your wardrobe isn't very balanced."

"Yeah, Weiss is starting to help me out," admitted Ruby.

"So you aren't from money yourself," deduced Alice. "I'm dying to know, Ruby, my curiosity is getting quite out of hand. How did you purchase the parts for Crescent Rose?" When there was no reply for a few seconds she frowned and continued on. "I mean, if I sold your scythe, I could fund my _other_ white dust needs for the rest of my time at Beacon."

The door opened abruptly and Ruby popped her head out with an intense expression on her face. "Alice, you weren't … were you?"

"High?" asked Alice with a cheshire smile. "I debated indulging all morning, but in the end I refrained."

Ruby disappeared back behind the door. "Don't ask me about the Lien," said Ruby bluntly.

Alice was taken aback, blinking repeatedly. In the girl's voice had been a sepulchral steel that sent a fearful shiver straight up her spine. She _knew_ girls who could sound like that, through the gala scene in both Vale and Atlas and they were all deadly. A girl had to go a long way down the dance to sound like that, where her voice conveyed not just a potential of death, but a resumé of it. The blonde girl looked at the door in amazement.

"Weiss has begun to weave quite the metamorphosis on you," noted Alice, taking a different tack. "Slowly making a society girl out of you, I should say."

Ruby laughed, the sound echoing in the bathroom. "What me? I don't think that'll ever work."

"I've seen the footage," pointed out the older girl. "You looked the part, you dressed the part, you duelled the part. You slipped into the role like a second skin. Personally, I think it's fascinating; we don't try and bring just anyone into our circles."

For a while there was no response, and no sound of activity. When Ruby finally spoke up there was a guilty note that coloured her voice. "It was fun, but I hardly want to be a leach on Weiss like that. Why do you think she's doing it?"

"She wishes to share with you the world she knows," said Alice carefully, wishing she could just come out and say what she thought. But she knew that Weiss' bite could cut deep. This wager alone had put her on more than enough thin ice. "Don't you think that is interesting?"

"I don't think I could be as mean as that," demurred Ruby. "Weiss scared me silly when we went to brunch at that hotel. She terrorised half the room just on the way to our table!"

Alice looked up and smiled nostalgically. "The path to the perilous heights is paved with the littlest expressions of power," she recited to herself softly. More loudly did she say for Ruby's benefit, "Oh, you don't need to be mean to be a society girl; it just helps. Still, I think it's fascinating how much Weiss is pulling you into her orbit like that."

"I guess," said Ruby, a little anxiously, "She just wants someone she can trust, no matter what, to keep her company. It seemed pretty sneaky and mean out there."

It was all Alice could do not to groan at Ruby's conclusion. '_Well aren't you two a pair_,' she thought to herself. '_How am I ever going to get you off the market?_'

The door opened and Ruby walked out in her full panoply of battle, including Crescent Rose riding at her back. "Hold onto my backpack for me, would you? I'm running late and need to go straight to the landing pad."

"Of course," said Alice.

Ruby handed over the bag with a smile and Alice began to walk her to the door. But as they approached it, Ruby happened to glance once again at the small array of pictures fixed upon the wall. This time something caught her eye. Amidst the few promotional weapon pictures from Sgathan House, a glamour poster from a famous Huntress Ruby recognised, a pop group she didn't recognise, a picture of Alice and her team at the beach, something else tucked in the corner made Ruby's eyebrows shoot up. It was a small print of Alice and three other girls posing together with arms around each other's shoulders as they leaned into the camera. Weapons were clearly visible in the photo. One of them was holding a white half-mask daubed in red markings. But what caught her eye was that one of the girls in the middle pair was none other than her partner, Weiss Schnee. The date in the corner marked it as a little more than a year old.

The girls were centred around a trio of White Fang masks. The young team leader's eyes went wide as she walked up to the picture. Ruby reached out to touch it as she looked back at Alice. The blonde society girl just gave her an enigmatic smile.

"You followed her," stated Ruby.

"I did," agreed Alice in a careful, polite voice.

"You fought the White Fang together."

"We did."

Ruby put her hands on the hips and gave Alice an exasperated look. "I didn't realise you used to be that close."

"I was comfortable enough with Weiss to tell her all about me and my Miltia," pointed out Alice with a smile. "That should have been a clue."

"Then what happened?"

"Mistral happened, Miss Ruby," replied Alice as a very sad cast came over her smile. "But that isn't my secret to tell. You may wish to let it safely lie. They were tumultuous times. Suffice to say, Weiss is progressing well in her recovery from a very considerable substance abuse problem. When someone does that, ofttimes their old friends necessarily are pushed to arm's length." Alice shook her head. "Weiss knows I would drag her back into that lifestyle in a heartbeat."

"That's horrible!"

"I can be none other than what I am," said Alice honestly, spreading her hands.

"Still," said Ruby pensively. She gave Alice a probing look but could perceive nothing in the girl's facade. "I wouldn't forgive you."

"You should trust Weiss," answered the older girl earnestly. "If she goes back, it will be because she chooses to, for her own reasons. She is not so easily swayed."

Ruby nodded and exhaled. As Alice dropped off the backpack by the foot of her bed, Ruby put her hand on the door knob. "Alice," she said with a glance over her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Thanks," said Ruby quietly.

"It was fairly won, Miss Ruby," said Alice with a smile.

* * *

><p>"Field trip, field trip!" trilled Nora as she waltzed her way out through the doors of the dormitory complex ahead of her team. After her in their full battle regalia came Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren, boots crunching at the pavement as they stepped into the sunshine of the beautiful day.<p>

"Nice to see the enthusiasm," noted Jaune with a smile.

"How would you like your Grimm, monsieur?" asked Nora by way of reply. "Exploded, diced, fricasseed, or pulped?"

"I don't think it matters, Nora, they all just fade away anyway," laughed Jaune.

"Just means you have to get in fast to get a nice juicy Grimm-steak," retorted Nora. With a whip-fast movement she brought her warhammer up to rest upon her shoulder. "Good thing Magnhild is an extrovert, because she'll be meeting _lots _of Grimm."

"Well, hopefully there won't be _too_ many to meet," answered Jaune a little hesitantly. The sound of a weapon shifting transforms caught his attention and he turned away from Nora to see Pyrrha holding Milo in longsword form, grinning at him. "Uh, Pyrrha?" he asked, before he yelped and twisted aside as the weapon's point thrust in at him.

"Cram session, Jaune," declared Pyrrha, sidestepping with an innate grace to stay in front of Jaune as he walked. "Nice dodge, by the way," she complimented.

The young lad grinned wryly. "I know how much you slowed that strike," he pointed out. But he drew Crocea Mors and gave it a twirl for reassurance.

Ren smiled as he watched, pulling StormFlowers from his sleeves and holding them in reserve just in case the sparring spilled over. "Don't rough her up too much, Jaune," he deadpanned.

Jaune stumbled and half-turned to stare at his friend in disbelief. "R-Ren, did you just...?" he asked in surprise. Before he could finish the question, however he felt the flat of Milo come to rest against his cheek. His eyes flicked down to catch sight of the coppery metal and panned down the length of the weapon to the attached arm, before finally tilting up to the red-headed girl beyond. Her smile was bold as brass. Ren was pushed to back of mind as he shoved his elbow up to disengage his partner's blade before he whipped his own sword in underhanded.

"Better!" declared Pyrrha as she casually sidestepped the blow.

The two students twisted to and fro as they began to spar across the campus. Pyrrha would test Jaune out and then withdraw a few steps to assess his response. Then she would go in again to worry away at the edges of his weaknesses. Her blade did just enough to make him aware of these weaknesses, at least subconsciously, as though she were a vaccine rather than a lesson.

As they watched their fellow partnership twist and weave their steel, Ren and Nora exchanged a look. "I didn't expect that," noted Nora quietly as she leaned in.

"Yes," replied Ren slowly. "Although I trust Pyrrha. And we both know Jaune still needs to work on his swordsmanship."

"No, I meant you," denied Nora, eyes sparkling. "You, making a joke?" Ren shot her a look, which Nora grinned at.

The young woman turned back towards their comrades as Jaune threw his shield out to batter down a blow, and only narrowly staying ahead of Pyrrha's stern test. Nora knew, just as Ren did, that there were some odd gaps in Jaune's knowledge and skills. Of course, his Aura was _easily_ Huntsman standard, and he was a good person and a friend, so they followed him without issue. But damned if it didn't make them wonder from time to time. Pyrrha was easily dictating the fight, and she was busy walking backwards the whole time.

"That looks fun," said Nora, patting at the head of her warhammer. The bass thump of Milo into Jaune's shield was something she felt deeply. It called to her, like a Siren on a drum solo. Without conscious thought she drew up her weapon into readiness. Crocea Mors flashed, parrying point down. Wrists rolled and steel clattered twice over. Jaune ripped his blade back and pushed his shield forward, forcing Pyrrha to recover and change her steps. Steel flashed brightly, enticingly in Nora's eyes.

There was a sigh at her side. "Go easy on him," said Ren.

Nora laughed. '_Ah, he knows me so well!_' she thought. "Watch my back, Renny-pie," she said, before reaching out and tapping him on the nose. "Boop."

Ren rolled his eyes, but the ghost of a smile haunted his lips.

"Jauney-boy, think fast!" cried Nora as she joined the fray from behind and to the left.

A reflex move took over Jaune's reactions, the fruits of Pyrrha's labours. He brought his shield up, but sharply angled towards Nora, with his sword hand tucked in just out of the student's sight. Magnhild hit the shield a glancing blow, deflecting down and away from Jaune's body. In a reaction faster than he knew he was capable of, Jaune thrust out hard with his sword, and drove it point first into the girl's face.

Realisation of what he had done made Jaune freeze up instantly. He needn't have worried of course as Nora laughed through the painful hit before sweeping his legs out from underneath him. He landed on his back with a startled whump, suddenly looking up at his teammates.

"Don't freeze, Jaune," beseeched Pyrrha. "That blow was perfect!"

"Perfect!?" blurted Jaune as he winced on the ground. Slowly he began to sit up. "I whacked her in the face!"

Nora leaned towards Ren and whispered from behind her hand, "And who expected I'd get a faceful of Jaune's sword before Pyrrha did?" Ren shot her an admonishing look, but Nora's grin was shameless.

"And?" asked Pyrrha of Jaune.

Jaune fell silent as he processed his thoughts. When he glanced at the 'victim' of his riposte, he found her smiling nonchalantly, absolutely none the worse for wear. Nora's Aura had absorbed the energy of his strike without issue. "Right," he muttered. He looked down at the hand wrapped around Crocea Mors' hilt.

"Seriously, Jauney-boy," chirped Nora, "That was an awesome move. I think you'd have whacked even Pyrrha with that."

"Yeah…," said Jaune awkwardly. "I suppose it was pretty cool."

"All you'll need to do on this field trip, then," continued Nora, "Is just imagine they all have my face and you'll be fine!"

"N-Nora!" protested Jaune.

* * *

><p>Melanie was nervously activating and withdrawing her elbow blades, as if in a tic. She stood on the edge of the flight platform, watching as Jaune's team arrived. Team RWBY was present as well, bar their leader. The white-clad Malachite girl was trying as hard as she could to hide her anxiety, but she knew her teammates were seeing through her. There had been field missions and sparring before, but this would be the new class's first mission deep into Grimm infested territory with both Miltiades and Ruby together.<p>

Their last mission had seen them encounter one Beowolf, which Pyrrha had dispatched with merry abandon. But from what they had been told, on this mission they would be lucky not to have to face a hundred of them. Worse, Professor Port had his heart set on finding something old and scary out there before they went home. Nightmare scenarios ran through the young leader's head.

"Everyone except Ruby is here now," noted Miltiades to the group softly. "I wonder where she is?"

"Isn't she usually the first one here?" asked Velvet.

"Yeah," said Melanie with a frown. She looked over and was surprised to see a blond swordsman walking her way. Pyrrha who had been talking to him, watched him go. "Hey, Jaune," she called as she got near.

"Hi Melanie," he said in reply. "You guys ready to fly?" he asked.

"Of course," replied Melanie as she folded her arms, a little professional pride stiffening her voice. "And you?"

"So far," said Jaune. He lowered his voice slightly for Melanie. "Hey, why don't you guys try and go mingle with Ruby's team? Might be good before we go on our mission."

Melanie turned a little more to face Jaune straight on, fixing him with an imperious gaze. The fight Jaune had to wage to keep his composure and dignity as a team leader was outrageously hard; the deep cleavage produced by her battle dress felt like a gravity well to his eyes. But to his credit he managed it, and thus got a civil reply.

"I really wish that didn't make sense," accepted Melanie as she sighed with feeling. "Do you know where Ruby is?"

"Not a clue, was about to go ask them," replied Jaune with a shrug. "I'm sure she'll be around soon."

"Okay, we'll join everyone in a moment," promised Melanie. Her peer smiled and gave her a thumbs up before stepping away to rejoin his own team. Melanie turned around again to face her team and inhaled deeply, before gathering herself up and setting her shoulders.

"You look like you're preparing for battle, not to go say hi," noted Velvet with a quirked brow.

"Velvet, anytime I have to go talk to Weiss it's a battle," pointed out Melanie with a weary little smile. "No blades, only words, but much the same apart from that."

"Weiss has never been mean to me," pointed out Velvet. "You guys really need to … I don't know, sit down and try to clear the slate?"

"What?" asked a very startled Melanie.

"Like, maybe if you keep your eye out out there and if you can help Weiss out with the Grimm," suggested Velvet, scratching at the base of her ear with embarrassment, "You could try and … you know, patch things up a little?"

Melanie's jaw worked soundlessly for a second as she processed the idea. "Patch things up?" she repeated in surprise. "With that bullying princess!? Whatever..."

"Look," said Velvet, holding out her hands, "I've been watching her for a while now and I'm just not seeing the horrible person you've been saying. Maybe she was that person, but it seems like she's changed. You're friends with Pyrrha, try going through her."

Melanie folded her arms up under her bust and fixed her teammate with a wickedly dangerous look. But Velvet held her gaze, confident she was right, an attitude that paid dividends when Melanie cracked first, nodding at her teammate with a grimace. Melanie wouldn't allow herself to vocalise a concession, however, instead looking to just move on.

"Alright girls," said Melanie as she turned away. "Let's go steal the scene."

The quartet spilled out of their huddled formation to go join their classmates. With a glance at each of her allies in their full battle regalia Melanie bolstered her self-confidence. The teams merged together, converging on the rather surprised trio of Yang, Weiss and Blake. They exchanged a glance, but did not resist the intrusion.

"Hey there," said Yang to Melanie, before echoing the sentiment for the other MAVM girls.

"Hello, ladies," greeted Melanie, her smile steady and confident. "Big mission today, isn't it? I can't wait, going to to be good to try out my new pretties."

Weiss eyed up Melanie speculatively. Her gaze was all that was necessary to immediately fracture Melanie's imperious facade, introducing an uncertainty to the dark-haired girl's expression. "I suppose so," mused Weiss. "Certainly it will be worth plenty of this unit's grade. For those who care about that sort of thing, anyway." As Melanie focused on smiling and not balling up her fists, Weiss glanced at Pyrrha. "Although I suppose that's just me and you as far as this class goes."

Aurea folded her arms and snickered nonchalantly. "Don't know what you expect, this is a class that thrives on action, not lectures. And we can do our part fighting Grimm."

"Going to be good to finally have a chance to prove that to you guys," noted Velvet, leaning on her stave.

That was a welcome attitude to Yang, and she smiled optimistically. "I'm looking forward to it," she acknowledged.

"We'll certainly do our best. My claws could do with an upgrade, though," sighed Miltia. "Hopefully I can get close to a few Grimm before they all get shot. I need to start putting together some bounties," she added with a nervous look at the others.

"Say," began Jaune hesitantly, "Where's Ruby off to?"

"Errands," answered Yang with a shrug. "She said she would be here in time, and I doubt she'd ever miss out on a ride on a Bullhead with lots of Grimm at the other end."

"Nora and me saw her walking by earlier," added Aurea with a shrug, resting her cudgel like a cane.

"She seemed real busy," elaborated Nora, gesticulating with unnecessary wildness. "She wouldn't stay and talk to me, even! But I'm sure she'll be back."

"Speaking of whom," said Ren quietly as he glanced over his shoulder and making a subtle nod in the direction of the Academy. The group looked that way.

Ruby Rose was walking up the boulevard towards them, as cheerful seeming as she had been since arriving. Her smile was broad and her silver eyes shone. There was a weightlessness to her step, a girl carefree in the sun's embrace. The red hood was affixed more snugly than usual, the rich, red fabric carefully enshrouding her neck. Some distance behind her, Professors Goodwitch and Port could be seen.

"Hey sis!" called out Yang, waving an arm. Ruby raised a hand and smiled back at her. "She looks cheerful," noted Yang happily. A moment later her eyes narrowed and a deeply suspicious look came over her. "Was her errand to the cookie vendor?"

"She certainly looks like the cat who got the cream," observed Melanie with a smirk.

"Does it matter?" asked Jaune with a frown. "Given how she was looking after the fight in the city, I'm just glad she's smiling."

Yang reached out and put an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "I always knew I liked you for a reason, Vomit Boy," she praised.

As Jaune struggled to escape Yang's grip, Miltia moved towards the edge of the group. "So she didn't say what her errands were?" she asked, but Blake just shrugged.

"No," she replied. "But we didn't ask her, either. We didn't really have a reason to." Miltia rolled her eyes, but didn't inquire further.

"Hey guys," called Ruby as she reached the perimeter of the class. "Sorry for being the last one here," she apologised with a goofy grin. A chorus of greeting came from the assembled girls and boys, which she gamely replied to. Everyone soon returned to the jumble of conversation in the groups however.

But Weiss eschewed the conversations in the group, walking away from Melanie silently, much to the former bodyguard's surprise. As her partner approached, Weiss noticed the stress-free composure that radiated from the girl. It was uplifting for the heiress to see the girl be so untroubled when she had seen her so stressed and frustrated in recent times. Enough so, in fact, that the rest of her mind didn't quite kick into gear straight away.

"Errands all done, good to go?" asked Weiss as she walked over to Ruby. She nearly stumbled as she arrived next to her partner, however, having noticed an unusual scent on the girl. She looked at her heels and muttered something angry sounding to cover for the slip.

"Yup," reassured Ruby. She patted Crescent Rose's holding form and smiled, a little anxiously as she glanced at her partner.

"That's a really interesting perfume, Ruby, something a bit different for you?" asked Weiss, just between the two of them. Something in her voice warned Ruby there was an dangerous hook in there somewhere.

"I'm not sure what you mean?" replied Ruby, carefully keeping her nerves out of her tone.

"I mean you smell like perfume," prodded Weiss with a frown. "I just happened to be curious about it. I could suggest one if you were looking, after all, something a little more affordable than the scent you're currently wearing for instance."

Ruby held her tongue for a moment, tilting her head at the heiress. "And what am I currently wearing?"

"A designer label popular among girls on the Atlas society scene," informed Weiss, lacing her fingers behind her back and leaning in. "But it's rather rare in Vale, in fact, the only person that I can think of who wears it in Beacon would be…"

"Alice, I guess," finished Ruby calmly to get on the front foot. "I ran into her."

'_Ran into her and tumbled across the floor a couple of times by the smell of it,_' noted Weiss to herself silently. She took a moment to decide where to go from here in approaching this new curiosity. Emotions seemed to fill her chest in a jumbled torrent, as if poured out of vessels from on high. There was something about this that Weiss really didn't like the feel of but couldn't quite figure out yet.

"That's right," said Weiss. "It was what she was wearing the other … night…," she added, trailing off into silence as something horrible clicked. "You had a bet. You asked about high-stakes society wagers. You … Oh my god, Alice Sgathan I am going to _kill you_," she breathed, hand over her mouth.

"Weiss!?" blurted Ruby in shock, instantly mortified and ashen faced.

The Schnee girl's blue eyes were wide as saucers, her face flushed with fury. The hand over her mouth stayed, pressed tight as she willed herself to not embarrass herself further. She shook her head, all but trembling herself to pieces in situ. When Ruby prodded her again, Weiss finally let the hand drop. "Ruby Rose," she said in a voice strained by incandescent jealousy. "Did you sleep with that treacherous, vile, deceiving corrupter?"

There was an annoying little rational voice in her head that told her that being upset made no sense. As Ruby had insisted to her sister, she was her own girl. And Weiss already knew that Ruby had been active on the dating scene; she would have to be a fool to think that had never amounted to anything beyond holding hands. But the emotional reaction she felt was visceral and undeniable.

"Would you keep your voice down!?" hissed Ruby, this time replacing the hand over Weiss' mouth with her own. She looked to see if anyone heard but it had gone unnoticed. "Okay, two things, one, it was a make out session for the love of Dust, I didn't sleep with her," she asked, to which Weiss shook her head intensely. "And two, don't you think you're being a _little_ hard on Alice?" she protested before sighing and saying, "Bonus point three, I'm single, my romantic prospects are completely hopeless, and I _knew _I could beat Alice. Did you really think I was going to say no?"

A moment of silence passed between them, until Weiss asked quietly, "What makes you think your romantic prospects are hopeless?" Within an instant Weiss stiffened with shock. '_Wait, no, that did _not_ come out right,_' she thought to herself in alarm. However, she needn't have worried.

Ruby brightened and replied, "Thanks for the encouragement. I guess I shouldn't let myself get down about it."

Weiss blinked and opened her mouth to reply but before so much as a syllable could emerge the Professors had arrived. Their appearance was heralded by the booming voice of Professor Port, whose crude-looking but inarguably effective blunderbuss axe lay over his shoulder. By his side was Professor Goodwitch, crop in hand and as stern as ever.

"I see everyone is here, just what I like to see from a first-year class," declared Port. "Eager to come to grips with the dread foe, one and all."

The students fell out of their conversations to present in an informal line, two ranks deep. Weiss stepped up to stand next to Ruby. Without quite realising what she was doing, she pulled Ruby's hand into hers in what those who saw it assumed was just a friendly gesture between the two students. But there was a possessiveness to the touch that made Ruby shiver.

"This is going to be a dangerous field assignment, students," explained Professor Goodwitch. "To refresh your memories from yesterday's briefing, we will be heading to the deeper parts of the Emerald Forest by Bullhead and looking for elder Grimm."

"Big, ugly, deadly ones," interjected Port. "So make sure you bring your best and do Beacon proud as Hunters and Huntresses-in-training! Or else you will die, setting back your chosen careers considerably," he concluded with a jovial fist pump for emphasis.

A disquieted whisper swept the students, except for Ruby who was all but bouncing on her heels at the news.

"Flight time is approximately one hour each way," continued Glynda. "Once we get there, Team Maven will take lead alongside Team Juniper, while Team Ruby will operate as the reserve and rearguard. Don't protest, Miss Ruby, you should not have the slightest concern about not having enough to do on this trip. You will be well-challenged."

"Yes, ma'am," sighed Ruby.

Professor Goodwitch took another five minutes to go through details of assignments and positioning, before finally finishing with a concise, "Good luck, students. Team Juniper will fly with us, Teams Maven and Ruby will share the second Bullhead. Everyone except the team leaders, fall out to the aircraft."

Weiss stepped away and turned for the aircraft. She soon found Yang at her side, nudging her with a gentle elbow. "Hey, Weissy, everything okay?" she asked.

Weiss blurted out a quick, "Huh?!"

"You look pretty freaked out," noted Blake, appearing at Weiss' side opposite Yang.

"I'm fine," lied Weiss. Her friends both gave her a look and she sighed. "Look, ask me after the mission. It isn't something I want to discuss on the eve of battle."

Yang and Blake exchanged a glance. "Alright," said Yang. "Don't be holding out on your teammates though, we're here if anything is freaking you out."

"I know that," complained Weiss as she rested a hand anxiously on the pommel of her rapier.

As they made their way to the aircraft that were to ferry them to battle, the three team leaders clustered around Professor Goodwitch, who used her scroll to convey the latest details of their intended landing zone.

"As I mentioned, Miss Ruby, your team will be held in reserve," reminded the staff member. "I would ask you to keep in mind that I want to give Team Maven every opportunity to demonstrate their suitability at this level. Your team, along with Team Juniper, have already shown an ability to deal with Grimm on this sort of scale. Miss Melanie, I am looking forward to you taking the fullest advantage of this opportunity."

"Of course, Professor," replied Melanie. "Me too."

The students dispersed again to join their comrades; Jaune heading to the Bullhead on the right, Melanie and Ruby off to the one on the left. Ruby watched as Miltia leaned out of the airship and pulled her sister up into the cabin. To the scythe-wielder's surprise Miltia then turned and offered her a hand as well.

As she approached Ruby placed a boot up on the lip of the Bullhead's passenger cabin, then reached up to take the proffered hand. Miltades' grip was firm, and she hauled her up swiftly. Ruby was surprised by the speed and collided with Miltia as she embarked. The two girls grabbed hold of each other for support. For a moment, Ruby sighed in relief as she stopped, but then realised to her dismay that her hood had been dislodged, which bared her neck.

"Wow, girl, where did you get those?" asked Miltia softly, fingers brushing against the bruises on the younger girl's neck. The team leader moved like lightning to restore the covering of the hood to her neck. "And while you're at it, why do you smell like my girlfriend?" added Miltia, her voice blossoming with anger.

"I happened to bump into Alice, alright?" said Ruby defensively. "And those are my own business." With that the young team leader bulled past Miltia and into the cabin to stand with Yang.

Miltia recoiled with a little 'oof' at the impact, and watched the girl disappear, an expression of complete bewilderment on her face. "She couldn't have…," she whispered to herself. The older student was staggered, and shook her head in disbelief. No, surely not?

"Are you okay, Miltia?" asked Melanie as they began to feel the powerful engines of the Bullhead begin to generate the immense forces that would grant the team flight. The frame began to vibrate around them. "You look all freaked out."

"Fine," said Miltia in an unconvincing voice. "I'm fine, Mel." With that she moved to the back of the cabin next to Velvet, gnawing at her cheek.

But to the girl's dismay her partner took one look at her face and said, "Wow, Miltia, what happened?"

"Ask me later, okay?" replied the Malachite girl. She shook her head in dismay and sat down with her back to the wall and legs folded up under her.

"... is it related to Alice, your sister, or to Ruby?" asked Velvet, taking a stab in the dark.

Miltia looked over balefully at her faunus partner and shook her head again. "I don't know for sure," she said, earning an odd look. Her scroll buzzed and made her startle. When she checked it, a message was waiting for her.

'[Alice Sgathan] : _Best of luck today, Millie, I'm so glad you're getting back in the field!_'

For a moment Miltia didn't breathe. A part of her unfairly complained about the gall of the girl. Velvet was at her side again, asking something Miltiades tuned out. Instead, as the Bullhead began to lift, she tapped back a message of her own: '_So how was she?_' She hesitated a moment but stabbed the send button. '_This is going to blow up really ugly if I'm wrong_,' she lamented to herself.

There was a pause before the reply came. The distant girl attempted to deflect, writing, '[Alice Sgathan] : _Whatever are you talking about, dear?_'

'_I'm talking about you and Ruby_,' wrote Miltia, eyes narrowing at the evasiveness. '_She smells of that perfume that you're oh so fond of and there are love bites on her neck. So what was she like?_' She sent the message and bit her lip, now in the lamentable situation of hoping like hell this nightmare had in fact occurred, lest she find herself in the doghouse for a month.

But she wasn't wrong, and a prompt reply arrived, even as the Bullhead began to start its forward momentum. '[Alice Sgathan] : _Oh! Dear me, I see the ability to lie perfectly doesn't necessarily translate into discretion. Silly girl. Don't let it bother you, Millie, it was just making good on a foolish wager made during sparring class. PS: She kisses like a little kid on the playground, it was horrible, __you wouldn't like it at all_.'

A low, frustrated, miserable moan escaped Miltia's lips. '_Oh you have to be kidding me!'_, complained Miltiades silently. '_Of all the girls in Beacon, you went with her? Argh!_' She felt a hand on her arm, and the shadow of one of Velvet's ears dipped over the screen of her scroll, but she ignored it for now. '_Please don't do that again, Alice, she's not safe_,' she sent to her increasingly distant girlfriend. A minute later, as the signal on her scroll began to dwindle, a reply came.

'[Alice Sgathan] : _Miltiades Malachite, do not talk to me about that! You don't want to commit, then okay, to the measure that you will allow me, I will be with you. Painful as that can be sometimes. You want me away from Ruby because you want her yourself, and don't pretend otherwise. But I want to keep you away from Ruby because I don't think you'd stop at just a taste and I am _scared,_ understand?_'

It felt like the whole of her chest was collapsing in on itself, like the metal weaves of her battle dress had all shrunk, strangling the life out of her. "That isn't true," she whispered insistently to herself. "No, that isn't true! I'm not being… I don't…!" Her eyes narrowed angrily.

To her surprise another message arrived shortly thereafter. "Alice...," she muttered as she read it. '[Alice Sgathan] : _PPS: Okay, my last PS was a complete lie, I'm sorry. Whatever you choose, don't hurt me (or her) in the process. Look, please, you're about to go into battle, forget all this, focus on the Grimm and please, please stay safe. You can come back and yell at me as much as you like. You mean the world to me, Miltia._'

'_I'll be safe, Alice_,' typed up Miltia. She bit her lip and self-reflected a little guiltily and added, '_Sorry for asking like I did. You're wrong though._' She confirmed the message with a hesitant tap. Moments after it successfully sent, her scroll announced it was out of signal range. The girl returned her phone to its little sleeve and ran her hands over her face, brows knitted together in frustration.

"Talk to me, Miltia," urged Velvet.

"I'm fine," refuted the student as she began to rub at her temples.

"You don't like fine at all, you look like you've been run over," asserted Velvet crossly.

"I am not okay to talk about this here, Velvs," protested Miltia. "After the mission, okay? I'm actually going to want to talk to someone about it, so I'm not just fobbing you off. But for now I have to put myself in the right headspace."

"Alright, Miltia, if you think that's what you need. I'll hold you to it," promised Velvet. "If you need to talk, I'm all ears," she said, before throwing in a little attempt at levity when she pointed up at her faunus ears and forced a grin.

"Look, it's about me being a coward and a hypocrite," explained the former underworld enforcer bitterly. "I'll tell you the rest later."

Miltiades looked up and across the cabin, her gaze seeking out a youth in a dark dress and red hood. Ruby was happily chatting with Blake and that oafish sister of hers, seemingly oblivious. As if by sixth sense, however, she seemed to feel the observation almost immediately. The girl looked over her shoulder to find Miltia glaring at her, and caught her eyes. Emotion ran riot over Miltia's face for a moment, but Ruby's gaze was steady, confident and bright. Embers smouldered in the look that Ruby gave her, a brief primal glimpse into what lay just beneath the surface that seized Miltia by the scruff. And then, without anyone around her being any the wiser, Ruby looked away, and Miltia released a breath she had not realised she had been holding.

'_You are a complete vixen, Ruby Rose._'

* * *

><p>"What a surprise, your mutts couldn't find anything on little Red," drawled Roman. "And they seemed so well trained, too."<p>

Cinder Fall propped herself up on a crate in the corner of their makeshift office, and slowly drew up and crossed her legs. Silky flesh glided against itself with a whisper that teased at the edges of Roman's hearing. Outwardly he didn't react but inwardly the pressure was intense.

'_The woman is completely unfair_,' he thought to himself in dismay. '_It's hard enough to match wits with her when you don't want to pin her ankles back to her ears._' But the infamous Torchwick was a gentleman thief, and those goddamned sinful legs could do as they pleased, she wouldn't get the satisfaction of knowing it affected him.

They were joined in their little meeting by Cinder's off-siders, Emerald and Mercury, while Roman had Neopolitan sitting politely at the table, smiling with a pleasantry no one with a survival instinct would trust. Cinder had been fashionably late out of the five of them. As a result Roman had been forced to put up with listening to Neo and Emerald verbally joust, sparks flying between them while they exchanged barbs like only wicked girls could.

"I suppose they did, I was very disappointed in them," lamented Cinder, her voice barely distinguishable from a feline purr. "I was perfectly surprised though, I would have thought a girl who so nonchalantly took life would have left more of a splash. Nonetheless, I am not comfortable in our ignorance about this little fly in our ointment."

"Does it matter?" asked Roman. "We don't need to be in her way, she doesn't need to be in ours."

"Darling, I'm going to be in Beacon," admonished Cinder. "Just as soon as I figure out what to do with Emerald's foolish exposure. And I have little love for ignorance. This was not our first encounter with that girl, and I wish to be sure that when we meet a third time I hold the cards."

Contemplative silence settled upon the meeting. "Well, if you need information in Vale and actually want competence, I know the gentleman," he said. "Although if you want henchmen, I would suggest somewhere else. They're a bit of a budget option, I'm afraid."

"Oh, him," said Cinder, frowning a little dismissively. "Does Vale truly have no better options?"

"I'd like to say we have an underworld as sophisticated as that of Mistral," said Roman with a nonchalant shrug. "But alas."

"Fine, I'll see this-," began Cinder, before Roman sat up straight and held up a hand.

"My dear, allow me to see to the details," protested Roman. "Your boy Mercury here," he began, smiling as he got an angry grunt at the word 'boy' from the lad, "Has already shown the dangers of over-exposure for your team. Let us take care of these things."

Cinder took a moment to reflect, running a hand down her luxuriant hair to buy time for herself. Mercury found himself on the end of a very irritated glare. "Point taken, Torchwick," she said tersely, still looking at Mercury. "Very well, see to the details. I want to know who this pretty little killer is before I step onto her dance floor."

As the echo of her words hung in the air she stood and walked towards the exit, her colleagues standing to follow. But just before she could reach for the handle, she paused and looked back to examine the shortest attendee. The colourful girl shifted a little anxiously under the gaze from one of the very few people in the world who she knew could kick her ass.

"Have you ever wondered how you would look as a blonde, Neopolitan?" she mused aloud. Emerald and Mercury both reared back, but whereas the former then giggled at the expense of her colleague, Mercury was absolutely fuming. He knew Cinder wasn't bandying beauty tips. His place in a crucial mission was at stake. Yet he knew better than to protest.

Neo blinked, her eyes going pale with alarm. "Well, I've never thought about it. I quite like my hair as it is. Why do you ask?"

Cinder declined to reply, however, and left the room with a smile. Neo cocked an eyebrow at Mercury when he turned to give her a filthy look. And then they were gone, with the door shut firmly behind them.

Roman glanced over at Neo after a moment's pause and tapped the table in front of her with his cane. "Did you seriously never meet Blondie's sister?"

"Never, I'm afraid," admitted Neo. "I wasn't interested in her family, you see, and she wasn't interested in mine. Shipping contraband to militant groups is perilous enough without exposing your relatives to it."

"Hmph. Well, I best see to this now," said Roman, picking up Ruby's photo from the table.

But to his surprise, Neo reached out to put a hand on his own. "Let me," asked Neo. "I'm interested enough for my own purposes anyway."

Roman smirked and released the photo with a gentlemanly nod of the head to his accomplice. "With pleasure."

* * *

><p>The Bullheads had landed in a meadow clearing deep in the forest, and Professors Goodwitch and Port were busily fussing about, preparing beacons for later pickup. They were also setting up operating stations for the recording drones that would shadow every movement the students made in the field. Students were informed of the drones, being told they were there to assist in providing feedback afterwards, as well as to coordinate teams in the field. That they also were important for disaster analysis was left unsaid.<p>

However, in addition to video records, the drones kept a transcript of all chatter that was carried out in the field. Velvet thus knew she had to get to the bottom of this mess before they flew. So as soon as Ruby began to walk away from a quick conference with her fellow team leaders, the faunus girl pounced quickly.

"Ruby, do you have a moment?" she asked insistently, appearing at Ruby's elbow.

The youth turned and smiled, all white teeth and flashes of silver. "Hey, Velvet," she greeted cheerily. "Sure. What's up?"

Velvet bit the inside of her cheek to still her nerves, then said, "Look, Ruby, I don't know what's going on, but you seem to have done something to upset Miltia something fierce."

A fey look crossed the younger girl's face. She didn't reply directly but cast about, until she spotted Miltia leaned up against the back of the Bullhead they had arrived on. Velvet opened her mouth to speak but Ruby just held up a hand and began to step away. As she watched the girl walk towards her partner, Velvet dropped her face into her her palm and groaned, "Ugh, shit…"

The young team leader steeled herself as she walked away from the group and towards where Miltiades was resting against the aircraft. One thing she certainly didn't want was for this to become a problem in the field, so she had to say something. But no plan came together in her head as she approached. '_Looks like I'll have to wing it_,' she thought to herself.

When Ruby drew near, Miltiades looked up at her. Recognition caused her eyes to flare wide and an angry heat entered her gaze. Words formed on her lips like bullets in their chambers, just waiting for the trigger. But the words died stillborn as the younger girl walked by with artful casualness. Only her eyes engaged the older girl, the silver shining enchantingly as it went by.

"You're really not going to say anything?" blurted out Miltia in surprise.

"Of course I'm going to say something," replied Ruby without pausing as she walked around the edge of the Bullhead.

Ruby smiled to herself when she heard the footsteps commence behind her as she moved on. She continued to walk, until she was halfway down the fuselage, just before the open side door. When she stopped she turned around and found the Malachite girl already looming close at hand. The young team leader nearly blanched when she saw the expression on the other girl's face, but kept her composure with effort.

"Alice confessed," declared Miltia, beating Ruby to the punch. "I'm honestly shocked at the both of you."

Ruby frowned as she looked up at the taller girl, resting her hands on her hips. "Why?"

Miltia blinked in shock, caught off guard. "What?" she asked in bewilderment. It was the last response she had imagined from the girl.

"Why are you shocked?" asked Ruby. "You don't look shocked, you know, you look angry. So I guess what I mean is, why are you angry with me?" She looked up at Miltia with a curious, inquisitive expression. "I can tell you're upset. I wouldn't have touched Alice if you guys were a closed item, but you're not. I don't know what I've done wrong."

"Neither of you should have been hopping in bed with the ordeal you've been through lately," pointed out Miltia.

"You were there at the sparring class, you saw me," argued Ruby. "I was okay. If you say you're okay with Alice not being, you know, exclusive, then I don't know why you're angry with either of us."

"Alright, look, maybe ... I shouldn't be angry," conceded Miltia, somewhat backing down on the earlier point. "But it hurt me and I get angry when I hurt, okay? That was how I learned how to deal with being hurt. You know my background, you know that's how it worked for me."

"Well, if it's jealousy you're feeling, maybe it's time you make things more serious with Alice?" suggested Ruby with a cheery grin. "Alice is really nice, and she's head over heels for you. Something to think about when we get back." But her kindly words did not have the expected result.

For a moment, the older girl wrestled with Ruby's words. They were kind and encouraging, and Miltia knew that she should be accepting them in that spirit. But it was such _crap_, and the brat was missing the point entirely! Miltiades looked away, taking her gaze away across the clearing to the tree line. A moment of ease began to grow again as the wind blew gently across them. If she didn't calm down she knew that she would inevitably say something she would regret. But looking out over nature gave her a quick feeling of peace.

Then she foolishly looked back to Ruby.

The other girl was tilting her head, still all cookies and innocence, bright and precocious as she offered her encouragement. Calm fled from her instantly. Instead the truth bubbled up within Miltia despite every effort until she finally blurted out, "It wasn't jealousy; it hurt because it was you that she was with!" Shock flashed across Ruby's features, taken off-guard by the sudden blast. "If Alice wants to explore new things, that's fine," continued Miltia, helpless to stop herself. "It's the fact it was _you_ who she was exploring that is the problem with all this!"

Ruby blinked slowly, her mouth working but no words coming out. Finally it all clicked in her head and she exploded. "What!? Who died and made you queen of my dating life?" protested Ruby forcefully. "Ugh, you know, I just don't know what to make of you. You say you don't resent me over our first field trip, but it always feels like you do! When I confronted you on Sunday, at your lunch hangout, you touched me like," she said hesitantly, reaching up to touch her cheek. "…and then you turned me down. I just don't know what's what with you!" She swept her hands out wide and shook her head.

"You killed two people on the Saturday, you made this wager on the Monday," pointed out Miltiades, before she checked for eavesdroppers and then leaned in to whisper, "I know you've been there, done that, but it's been a while. It clearly affected you."

The mention of sins past made Ruby still for a moment, but her brows lowered, her eyes narrowed and Miltia began to see in her stance the violent potency she knew all too well was within the girl. First-hand experience told her Ruby was dangerous when pressed. But while the imminent sense of danger frightened her, it was also exciting for her.

"Why can't you ever be honest with me?" asked Ruby in a frustrated growl, rejecting Miltia's explanation out of hand with a fierce swipe of her hand.

"How could I be honest with you?" retorted Miltia. "Seriously. Illusion and projection are so tied up with who you are, what else could I be? I've seen you so bright and cheerful you could have stepped straight from a Saturday morning cartoon, and yet I've also seen you take life with a smile. I mean, like, what are you, Ruby?"

"Ugh, so I don't fit into a nice box, so what?" protested Ruby. "Like being hard to pigeonhole is the same as leading me one way and then telling me to go look up my old classmates. You teased me, you touched me, I thought you might have been interested, but then I get told to buzz off. And then you tell me it hurts more because it's me!"

"You really don't understand at all, do you?" demanded Miltia as she threw her hands up in the air. "God, Ruby, for all you flirt, for all that when you have a mind to, you can move like a…," she began to say before shaking her head and trailing off, not wanting to give voice to what she had in mind. "Sometimes you just don't understand."

"I understand that you're not the only one being hurt here," said Ruby quietly, a powerful intensity in her silver eyes. "Did you think this is fun for me? To feel like I never got free of that Nevermore's claws, like I'm still up there and out of control? I'm glad that I hurt y…," she began, before stopping, fighting with herself desperately.

Miltia tilted her head back and sighed deeply, stalling Ruby's reaction. Slowly she looked back at the younger girl, who pensively waited to hear what she had to say.

"I suppose hurting each other is just something we're both good at. I guess that's why our teams want us out of each other's way. But I think we'd both miss that hurt, don't you?" She set her hands on her hips and sighed, shaking her head. She actually felt lighter, relieved to have talked to Ruby like this. A little smile turned up at her lips, catching Ruby off-guard. "We better get back."

"Yeah," muttered Ruby shakily, not sure what to make of the older girl's words. She drew in a breath and steadied herself. She didn't say anything, but turned and walked away, towards the front of the ship, wondering how that conversation had gotten so far out of hand. She needed to stop and think, to make heads or tails of what Miltia had said.

"Argh, there you are!" came Weiss' voice the moment she stepped back into view of the base camp. The heiress glided over, eyes keen and hands on her waist, every fibre in her being looking admonishing. "Dunce, the camp is ready, we're about to get started, this isn't the time to be hiding."

The words washed over Ruby as she regarded Weiss thoughtfully. "Hey, Weiss," she asked.

"Eh?" said Weiss, caught off-balance by the response. "What?"

"Do you think Miltia likes me?" asked Ruby, fixing her with a look.

Weiss stared at her partner with narrowed eyes, hands still on her hips.

"No. Not even a little."

Ruby sighed and looked up at the trees surrounding the meadow. She gave a quick shake of her head and looked back at Weiss. "Suppose I needed to hear that," she said in a ghostly voice. "I guess I just need to resign myself. She's so hard to make heads or tails of, you know? But I guess that's just me with any older girl. Going to be a long two years until my class at Signals graduates."

Before Weiss could figure out exactly what her partner meant, the girl had pulled free Crescent Rose, and made a quick pair of practice swings before bringing it to rest on her shoulder. "Well, at least I always know where I stand with my sweetheart," she said, allowing herself a little smile as she rested her cheek against the shaft. "Huntress time and there's a lot of Grimm to kill. Plenty of time to think about the devastation Beacon has left of my romantic prospects later."

With that she walked off to join the rest of the class, further across the clearing around a stack of equipment. Crescent Rose sat as comfortably and reassuringly as ever upon her shoulder. She left Weiss dumbfounded at the quick collapse in her partner's morale she had brought with a single breath.

It didn't make any sense to the young heiress. How else was she supposed to have responded? Suggest that Miltia liked her? No, it was unacceptable! But the deeply depressed look that the girl had worn was proof she had somehow gotten something important very, very wrong.

"Wait, Ruby…," she called softly, but the girl was already settling into her zone and didn't stop or look back. "But that wasn't what I meant," she finished with a whisper as she turned to watch Ruby walking away. "But that wasn't what I meant!" she repeated loudly, but Ruby was already distracted by her duties.

* * *

><p>At the same time that Ruby went to speak with Miltiades, Blake and Yang had found themselves alone on the opposite end of the clearing. Weiss was off fuming, quite in a world of her own, and was paying the other two girls scant attention. This suited the two students just fine. Together they took a fallen log as a seat and sat facing away from the camp. Ostensibly they kept watch for the distracted faculty and to an extent that was true. Moreover they were grateful of a chance to finally talk after a tumultuous night.<p>

Blake's hand rested upon the far side of the log to the camp. Yang's hand rested on Blake's. As they gathered their thoughts they sat in comfortable quiet, both watching the forest edge.

"So, we're a thing now?" asked Yang, still watching the horizon warily. Her voice wavered, just a little, as she looked for confirmation. "We never really said?"

"Mhmm," said Blake, sparing a glance over at her partner. "We didn't really say much on the way back yesterday."

"No," agreed Yang. "Don't think either of us expected what happened."

"I certainly didn't," agreed Blake, ducking her head.

"You okay with it all?" asked Yang. "You were so quiet after I confessed, I wasn't sure what to think."

"I had a lot to think about," answered the faunus girl.

"I didn't ask you to marry me," said Yang with a small smile. "I didn't even ask you to sleep with me, you know."

"You're a human girl," pointed out Blake. "I've never done this before. I … don't know what to do, what to say."

"All those stories you read haven't given you any suggestions?" asked Yang, a dancing light sparkling in her eyes.

Blake paused and then smiled back. "Quite a few, but nothing I've ever experienced myself before." She bit her lip. "So we're a couple now. But it seems we had the date before we knew it could be a date."

"What? Oh! That movie," replied Yang, full of life and laughter as she leaned forward.

"Yes, on the weekend."

"Oh but that doesn't really count! We should go back to that movie theatre," suggested Yang. "And do it properly. Same place, same movie, but this time I'll kiss you hello, and then kiss you good night," she explained in voice like the smoke off hot embers.

Blake shivered.

Silence wound its way around them for a moment after that. They paused and contemplated, both a little anxious and jittery. After a time Yang asked, "Are we going to tell the others?"

Blake looked over, honeyed eyes meeting Yang's. "I hadn't decided."

"I want to," said Yang. "Maybe it's a bit selfish, but I don't want to try and tell Ruby not to hide things and then hide this from her."

"Not thrilled by the idea, but I get your point," conceded Blake.

"We've got enough secrets, Blake," pointed out Yang. "I don't know about you, but they're starting to wear me down. Let's not add to the list."

Blake took Yang's words on board and paused. After a moment she nodded, a distance and another time in her eyes. "Yeah, it wears at me too." Quiet took the pair again. Blake leaned back and looked at the gorgeous blonde girl beside her. The startling human who after discovering her faunus heritage had shown her a side no different to the side she had shown before. The honesty of soul was bracing; the Yang that Blake had known was the true Yang. Deeds and secrets might lie in her past, but the core of the girl was always present, unadulterated and purely Yang. It was invigorating for Blake to meet.

"Secrets … you mean the militant sympathising?" asked Blake, prying a little. She knew she still had an almighty secret she had yet to share. Much as Yang had known she had needed to confess her work with the White Fang upon discovering Blake was faunus, likewise had Blake known that she would need to reveal her own past with the White Fang if this was going to work. And Blake wanted to make this work. Yang was earnest, passionate, a girl who made Blake want to leave her shell. Someone who had her beliefs and fought for them fiercely, whatever the cost. Blake admired her for these things deeply. For bonus points, Yang was also hot-to-trot gorgeous.

"Oh, Blake," sighed Yang as she checked her scroll to make sure the mission recorder was not on. "Yes, the smuggling. And the lying. And the killing. It's an ugly business, and I've had to do … things I regret. I have more than Junior's henchman on my hands."

"When did it stop?" asked Blake.

"A few months before I came to Beacon," answered Yang honestly. "I finally just couldn't take what the White Fang was doing anymore. I didn't feel like I was helping a group dedicated to justice, I felt like I was helping a few leaders get rich through other people's blood. There came a point where I realised things had become so warped that I was, well, breaking my principles as I tried to pursue them."

"I think I felt the exact same thing," said Blake in a voice soft and distant. A ghostly, ethereal tone. Yang looked up at her in surprise. "Ever since you confessed yesterday, there's been something I've been trying to have the courage to tell you. You might think it's terrible of me, but if it wasn't for what you told me, I'd try to keep this secret forever if I could." She could feel the intense, searching look from Yang that, hot like a brand. "I was, and I'm no longer proud of this, an operator."

"Eh?" asked Yang, not immediately making the connection.

"With the-"

"_If I may have your attention students_," came the voice of Peter Port in stereo upon the girl's scrolls. "_The drones are aloft, and the mission is begun. Let's gather together and embark_."

Blake and Yang exchanged a look as they heard the Bullhead engines begin to roar back in the clearing. Yang came off of the log and put her hands on Blake's knees, and leaned in to the girl. "Hold that thought," she whispered. "But put it somewhere safe. We have Grimm to fight."

* * *

><p>Halfway across Vale City, in a particular night club, a young woman was meeting Hei Xiong, the man known as Junior to the underworld. For all she was a petite lass, she exuded an air of danger and violence. With every smirk and glance she promised and terrified. None of the henchmen would go near her. With good reason, of course.<p>

Neopolitan's reputation for bloodshed was extensive and well-earned.

"Alright, if you think I can help where your own sources couldn't," said Junior, a certain smugness in his tone. "Then I'm happy to step in. Just tell me what you want to know."

The two underworld figures were seated at his bar. Being the middle of the day, there was no one around except Junior's staff, and they could talk openly. Neo sat with her back to the counter, expertly scanning across the more crowded part of the building. Junior was more at ease, a drink in hand as he leaned against the counter.

"I want to know everything there is to know about the girl in this photo," instructed Neo.

Junior reached out and took the photo, grunting as he saw it. "This little thing?" He scratched at his goatee and cast his mind back through the enquiries he had made after Yang. "Hmph, this alleyway in the background … this wouldn't have anything to do with that 'incident' last weekend?"

By way of reply, Neo's eyes narrowed, and she said, "Her name is Ruby Rose, she is the daughter of Taiyang Xiao-Long and Summer Rose, sister of-"

"Yang Xiao-Long, yes, I know," interrupted Junior. "I don't know much about the Rose girl, but her sister, Blondie, cost me plenty a while back. Tore the whole club up, cost me two of my best employees."

"The way I hear it," purred Neo, her predatorial instincts firing hot as she leaned in, "You cost yourself the twins. Stories of your overreaction are achieving legendary status."

"I did what I had to do," retorted Junior, eyes flashing as he took the bait. "I'd just had my whole operation turned upside down, the costs were outrageous. That shut-down cost me a huge contract that went straight to their old boss. I looked like a gimp. What else was I going to do?"

Neo smiled, her lips taking on the curve like they were something serpentine. "Well, I'm no underworld boss, but _I_ certainly would never have let those two go."

Junior snorted and shook her head. "That tone, you're thinking with your pelvis again. Well, one only likes boys her own age and the other was pulling skirt like I could only dream of."

"You misunderstand entirely," said Neo as she laughed. "Unusual for an information broker. You see, once you reach the position those two were in, you either keep them, or you _kill_ them." She blinked and her eyes changed colours to a frightening pink and brown. Her lips bared teeth in a death's head smile.

"Hmph," grunted Junior, folding his arms. "Well, I can find out about this Rose girl for you, if you give me a couple days." He paused and sized up Neopolitan before adding, "I could tell you plenty about the blondie though." All mirth disappeared from Neo's demeanour and Junior felt the thrill of knowing he had hit a mark.

"There is _nothing _that _you_ could tell me about Yang," declared Neo darkly, her eyes splitting their colours with a dangerous blink.

Junior smiled and picked up the photo and walking away. "No, Neo, I suppose there isn't," he said airily. As he went, a girl in a tan and cream frilled dress appeared from the shadows after a nod from Junior.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First things first. Ruby calling in Alice's debt. I figured I'd put in a quick note here, since anything OC x Canon Character is normally rather a taboo in fanfiction. **

**There is a method to the madness. To be honest, in original writing, I'd have added this scene without a second thought! As a scene, it has been part of the plan for a while in order to throw the cat among the pigeons and put a 'show' to a few 'tells'. It is absolutely not the start of an Alice x Ruby arc and is certainly not OC x CC shipping. I had debated having it all happen off-page. But in the end, there are enough things that Ruby has been said to have done at Signal (heart-breaking, serial monogamy, etc) where there had been little or no on-page sign to match while in Beacon. So this dealt with a number of topics that I had on my hit list at once, while things aren't ready for the Weiss/Ruby/Miltia triangle to hit that point just yet. ****(Soon…)**

**With that out of the way, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. It was short on action scenes, but next chapter we'll be diving back into a motherlode of action. Masses of critters, explosions, lunacy, derring-do, and Ruby asks a Grimm if it fears death… Well, that's the plan, anyway, we'll see how it turns out.**

**Please review, as all feedback is appreciated and helps me to fine-tune things in future chapters.**


	11. A Petal Aloft

**A/N: Okay, well, back again, everyone. Obviously I would have liked to get this chapter out last month but going on a big holiday slowed down my plans! Sorry about that. Not to mention the fact this chapter is … well, it's on the overly large size. Sorry if it's too much to digest in one sitting. The big centrepiece battle went on for a bit longer than expected.**

**Thanks to everyone who left reviews, I got some phenomenally helpful feedback that I have definitely taken on board. And to everyone else who has read, fav'd and followed, I am glad to have you along for the ride!**

**From here on out the story will be transitioning slightly as the combatative girls come to terms with the fact they're stuck with each other and the realities of being a Hunter-in-training. There will still be drama, secrets and mean girl antics, don't get me wrong, but everyone is going to start being swept up into something larger and more dangerous as time goes on.**

**Now, for the more sombre note. With the passing of Monty Oum, the whole RWBY fandom has been affected. My thoughts and prayers are with his families and loved ones in this time. His creative spark and passion will be sorely missed.**

* * *

><p>A soundscape of battle filled the forest, woven of such fabric as the pounding thunderclap of gunfire, the ringing of steel and the piercing cry of the ancient enemy of Man. Calls and counter-calls of the students echoed back and forth through the mayhem as they pushed through the forest. Beowolves, Creeps, and Boarbatusks in force had been found lurking among the tall trees of the deeper depths of the Emerald Forest.<p>

Melanie was in high spirits as she burst through the foliage, heel and elbow blades gleaming, surprising a pair of Beowolves. One of them threw a right hook with a paw reflexively, which the student ducked and countered, taking the arm off with a swing of her elbow. Her foot whipped out and tore through the Grimm's knee to cripple it further. A gymnastic side-leap with an arc of her leg saw her heel blade shear through the other beast's jowls. A pirouette saw her new blades strike in sequence to behead the injured Beowolf.

As she proceeded to finish off the other injured foe, she heard Aurea moving up alongside her. Her carbine was firing with a crack and a zip, rapidly putting strong rounds into the flanks of a Boarbatusk. With a wail the beast slumped to its side and soon began to dissolve.

"Good shooting, Aurea," complimented Melanie as she began to scan the forest before them for more foes.

"Ha, all in a day's work," dismissed Aurea as she stretched. "Hmm, I don't see any m-"

There was a crash before a shadow fell upon them from behind. Both students spun around and looked up to behold a powerful Beowolf; an alpha who had lived through a generation and was cannier than the others. But before either of them could raise a finger to defend themselves, the Grimm jack-knifed backwards as if struck by a great fist that propelled it past them. A fountain erupted from its chest and a thunderous boom echoed through the forest. They looked up from the slowly dissolving corpse to see Ruby Rose waving at them from a fair distance through the forest.

"God, that rifle is scary," muttered Aurea. "And she is a dead-eye to hit that target through that much foliage."

"Yeah," agreed Melanie carefully. She gave their backup a thumbs up, held over her head so she could see it at a distance. "You can see why she's the team leader, if she's focused enough to see even that little surprise." She looked over her shoulder and jumped. "Whoa, speaking of which, Creep, over there!" She raced off at top speed while Aurea levelled her carbine and opened fire.

* * *

><p>The large Boarbatusk skidded across the ground sideways, throwing up shrubbery and a bow-wave of dirt. On the flank that Magnhild had struck the plating was shivered and ruined. They still vibrated with the force of the blow. Yet they had nonetheless saved the hideous creature's life, so Jaune stirred himself to action.<p>

He raced across the forest floor, his shield held high to the left to deflect a Beowolf's strike. Sparks flew as claws skittered off his shield and he smote its flank in passing, cutting deep into its flesh and breaking bone. In so doing he opened his back to another Beowolf that raced in on his right flank with frightening pace. But then a sound like ripping canvas was heard, and a storm of bullets zipped past the young student. Red angry bursts stitched up and down the Beowolf, cracking through the cranial armour and bringing it to a tumbling halt before it could trouble Jaune.

"Thanks, Ren!" called out Jaune as his team-mate switched magazines behind him.

The Boarbatusk was beginning to stir, its powerful legs finding traction as it tried to right itself. But Jaune was there just in time, throwing himself upon the porcine beast's underbelly, driving Crocea Mors into that soft flesh almost to the hilt. Though its girth was well broader than Jaune was tall, three feet of steel in its entrails was as mortal for the Boarbatusk as it would be for many other creatures. The Grimm released a piercing howl, a burning roar that echoed off the canopy above and the trees around. Jaune twisted and leveraged his weight behind the sword, dragging it along and out of the foe to leave a massive, fatal wound.

"Haah..." Jaune shook his head as he wiped the sword off on the hide of the slowly settling Grimm. "No … problem," he pantingly called to the others.

"Thanks Jaune, that counts as mine!" called out Nora. She pulled off a manoeuvre as she passed a boulder that her team leader could scarce credit, even upon seeing it with his own eyes. Magnhild's face dropped down upon the boulder and she sprang up to balance for a moment on the haft of her warhammer. A great blast blossomed out behind her, backlighting the student brilliantly as a grenade charge propelled her through the air.

"Tally-ho!" she cried, twisting in mid-air so she landed upon the Boarbatusk's head, crushing it once and for all with a mighty second blow.

"It was already dead, Nora!" protested Jaune as the outsized beast slowly began to dissolve from the flanks.

Nora's rebuttal was interrupted by the primal cry of more Beowolves; youthful, smaller ones that swarmed into them. The first few came over the top of the slow-dissolving Boarbatusk straight at them. Jaune feinted towards his right and drew the Grimm that way. He rolled his wrist while pushing his weight left to bring his weapon down on the back of the creature's neck as it went by. He went a little too shallowly to lop the head off, but still neatly killed the beast. The nearest creature of the darkness dove at him and he had to react smartly with his shield to avoid major harm. His sword thrust blindly but struck true, sinking deep into his assailant's flesh. He twisted to throw off the heavy mass and finished it with a wild chop.

Nora set about herself with Magnhild, keeping her grenades in reserve for these younger beasts. A swing to the left hit a Beowolf with such strength that its cranial armour flew apart and it slumped motionless. A low back-sweep broke the legs of another to her right. Up went Magnhild and down, splattering its maw along the forest floor to put an end to the foe.

"Nora, boost!" called out Pyrrha as she approached from where she had been holding the left flank of their perimeter. She was at a jog, shield loose in her left hand, rifle in her right.

"Coming up," cried Nora, dropping to one knee and resting her hammer over her shoulder as Ren moved to cover her. The ginger girl left herself open to attack without hesitation or fear, and Ren proved her faith well placed. A pirouette put StormFlowers' blades through the nearest interloper, and as it crashed to the ground he executed it with a volley of small-calibre rounds to the back of its neck.

Pyrrha leapt, twisting in the air so that she 'sat' in the bowl of her shield, which landed acrobatically upon Magnhild's face. With well-practiced timing, Nora fired and launched her teammate. Jaune had to look up in amazement after he dispatched another juvenile Beowolf as his partner unleashed herself upon the mob.

She fired her carbine twice to slow herself, and she seemed to hang in the air for a moment. As a mass of the dark creatures leapt at her, she flung out her shield to one side and whipped her weapon out to the other even as it transformed into its javelin manner. With a terrific bang the javelin leapt out to strike an Beowolf in its throat. The shield careened off another beast and with a quick flick of her semblance Pyrrha sent it crashing into a further foe.

Jaune found himself wide-eyed and stunned as Pyrrha ripped through the horde in a mesmerising display. She stayed airborne for several seconds, springing off dying Beowolves to keep aloft. Sending her shield ricocheting from body to body, she disrupted every attempt to coordinate attacks on her, even as her weapon continued to morph and shift as needed to kill Grimm.

"Beautiful," whispered Jaune, just before it all went wrong.

A great Beowolf paw clipped Pyrrha's leg, spinning her in the air and opening her up to a crushing overhand slap that drove her a long way to the forest floor below.

"Pyrrha!" cried Jaune and Nora simultaneously.

The blonde team-leader vaulted over the dissolving Boarbatusk and rushed to Pyrrha's side as she groggily writhed in pain on the ground. Nora was waylaid, having to crush the skull of one Beowolf before pulling back when its comrade attempted to avenge it. But Jaune made it through, dropping to a slide with his shield raised high to stop a blow. His sword whipped around and thrust deep into the nearest foe's maw. At his side, Pyrrha was sitting up and had summoned her shield over. She pressed back against Jaune, their shields forming a protective wall.

"Crap, crap, crap!" complained Jaune as ever more Beowolves drew near around them, snarling ominously.

"_Keep low, guys, help on the way!_" came Yang's voice in his ear bud.

"Incoming!" cried out Nora stridently, pointing back into the forest from which they had come.

Brilliant sapphire lances burst out from the forest shadows and through many Grimm, while half a second later an absolute storm of powerful energy impulses screamed through the air. The wind whipped and whistled with its passing, rustling their hair as it went. Searing blasts ripped into their ranks as the bolts struck true.

The air was shimmering hot and the aftermath of the Dust was everywhere in sparks and curls of colour. Jaune and Pyrrha burst from their huddle as further waves of Grimm replaced those dissolving away. As they fought side-by-side against the relentless tide, more Dust lances arrived. Just behind the lances was Yang, who plowed into the midst of the enemy and released a tremendous flash of aura. Beowolves staggered and tumbled, just in time for Blake to open her account. Gambol Shroud sang through the mire of battle, splitting skull and cutting sinew. She worked to back up Yang, staying just behind the blonde student and slaying all the beasts that tried to turn her flank. Jaune and Pyrrha in turn protected Blake and together they rapidly drove a wedge into the throng.

Yang was smiling like a shark, high on the pumping adrenaline. She twisted into the embrace of a Beowolf, only to spring into a corkscrewing uppercut, pulverising its maw. She would jump off one foe to land atop another, emptying a shell into its brain and using the recoil to power a kick strong enough to break the neck of her original springboard. Yang was fast, creative, and brutal.

Through the swirling motions of the monsters Yang could discern Nora leading Ren through the pack from the other side in a pincer. The hammer-wielding girl in pink was still conserving her grenades, even though mighty Magnhild required great physical exertion to wield without the recoil power. Yet wield it she did, stoving in heads and crushing rib cages, drawing nearer as Ren fought alongside her.

Yang assaulted a Beowolf before her, kicking out its leading knee and catching its arm as it swiped at her. Ember Celica discharged into the arm from point blank, severing the limb. Rather than waste shells finishing it off she spun and kicked it backwards, where it staggered to the feet of Blake who swung Gambol Shroud and split it open down the middle. Facing forward again, Yang was about to attack a Beowolf that surprisingly had its back to her, only for that beast to collapse under the irrepressible force of Magnhild.

"Fancy meeting you here, Yang," greeted Nora as she recognised the brawler in turn.

"Oh this, I was just in the neighbourhood," replied Yang with a grin.

Around them the Grimm paused and took backward steps, heads cocked upward as if listening for something. A moment later they were turning and disappearing back deeper into the forest. The students all looked at each other in surprise, but didn't have an explanation.

Before they could move to pursue, Professor Goodwitch was on their scrolls. "_Blake, Yang, good work. Sortie complete, come on back. Jaune, lead your team west-ward and link up with Melanie's team._"

"Sure thing, Professor," replied Jaune.

"_Miss Nikos, that was a spectacular display, however I would remind you that we are in the wilderness now, and theatrics should be tempered._"

Pyrrha was ashen-faced as the Professor's admonishment came through. "S-sorry, Professor."

* * *

><p>Wishbearer whistled as it smote a blow upon a Creep's head. A rainbow of colours poured free as it landed, rendering a deep and ugly wound. Velvet grinned and pulled her staff back, spinning around to tuck in under her arm on the far side. She thrust a palm out towards Miltia, who had been exchanging blows with a strong Ursa. Velvet was suddenly orbited by golden bands of light from her semblance. Miltia's claws burst into glowing incandescent flames as Velvet's Dust mage powers aided her.<p>

Miltiades sprang up and struck the Ursa across the torso, then hopped again off its knee to strike it across the neck. A blast of light accompanied each blow and the ugly bear-like head came free. She kicked hard off the foe, summoning her agility semblance to cross the air in a fiery red blur, like a demoness in flight. Her feet landed on the lap of a Beowolf and her claws criss-crossed on the beast, fast enough to get inside of the Grimm's own blow. The twin strikes from above let her fold her arms protectively across her torso against any dying counter-blow. But the Beowolf simply collapsed and began to dissolve.

A new beast came at her and she rolled forward, going under its strike to land a blow against its leading knee. The leg collapsed out from under the beast, but its arms worked just fine and a back-handed swipe sent Miltia floundering backwards. Velvet finished the job however, a pulsating lance of energy erupting from the tip of Wishbearer that carved through the wounded enemy. Miltia rolled up to her feet and sprang past Velvet and into a corkscrewing assault as another Beowolf appeared behind Velvet. The Beowolf staggered under the blows, falling onto its rump. Velvet made a half-turn, raised her arm and then dropped it in a snap motion. Fiery glass shards appeared and after a moment, propelled themselves forcefully into the foe's skull, ending its fight.

The two girls panted, taking a moment to catch their breath after going through a number of Grimm in quick succession. "So far, so good," said Velvet.

"Mhmm," agreed Miltia wordlessly.

"_You guys okay?_" came Melanie's voice over her sister's scroll.

"No problems, Mel," replied Miltia as she looked about. "We took care of…," she began to say before her eyes went wide and she trailed off. "Get over here, get over here! Mel, Aurea, quick!" she cried aloud.

Velvet snapped around to see what had Miltia so alarmed. When she did her eyes widened. Ursi, big and tough ones, coming out from behind a hillock in the forest. Backing them up was an Ursa Major of abnormal bulk and armouring, an old and dangerous gleam in its dark red eyes. Just as she was about to open her mouth, though, she saw something else, in the distance behind them. A shifting shadow among trembling trees that only her sensitive faunus eyes could reveal.

"_What is it!?_" came Melanie's voice, slightly broken up with the exertion of running while she spoke.

"_Report, please_," came Glynda's clipped, clear and professional voice.

"There are a lot of Ursa coming our way, like, over a dozen, and they're pretty big, too," reported Miltia on the scroll, nerves stripping some of the polish from her voice. "There's this really big and ugly Ursa Major at the back and I could really do with some help to teach it a lesson."

"_We see them, Miltia, almost there_," reassured Melanie.

"Professor, there's something else back there," announced Velvet. "It's really distant, but coming this way. I think there's a great elder back there."

"_Juniper, transition north to join Maven,_" came Goodwitch's instant response._ "Destroy the Ursa group quickly. Rose, you are in reserve for this fight. Other team __Ruby members, fall back on me. __Professor Port will send a drone further out to identify what is out there._"

The two girls stood among a small patch of broken forest, where their previous battle had felled trees and ripped up foliage, creating a small clearing of sorts. The Ursa were fifty meters away and forming up. Velvet and Miltiades exchanged a look and a nod. They had a plan for these situations and knew what to do.

Miltia stepped forth with alacrity, claws by her side in a patch of open ground. Velvet's semblance went to work on her partner. Rippling green and blue concentric circles spread out underneath Miltiades and a bright glow worked its way through the trainee Huntress' figure. A trio of the Ursa, those on the leading edge, charged, eating up the distance rapidly with powerful strides. Finally the light underfoot ended and a powerful radiance burst forth from Miltia's claws.

Miltia knelt and struck her claws upon the ground in the direction of the closest Ursa, ripping them across the dirt. A bright tide, like a shark's fin cutting through the waves, wake and all, sped with blistering pace across the ground. When it reached the target it exploded into a burst of glass that ripped into the beast, causing it to roar with pained fury.

One after another, Miltia sent these rips at the oncoming Ursa. But where they would have killed in one blow a juvenile Beowolf, against these tougher Ursa they just wounded and dismayed. Miltia grit her teeth and then they were upon her. Seeing three bloodied, enraged beasts, all wanting nothing but to tear her to pieces, was absolutely petrifying. An ice cold sweat formed at the back of her neck. For all her training, for all her aura and talent, this was the single most frightening thing Miltiades Malachite had ever been confronted with in her short life. They were huge, they were spined and spiked and covered in armour plate. Blood and scorchmarks were everywhere and although it meant they were weaker, it also made them visually more horrifying. Simple bowel control was an act of superhuman self-discipline. It combined to make it all the more exhilarating for Miltiades as she committed to the battle.

With her weapons still glowing in the aftermath of Velvet's power, Miltia attacked, driving her claws powerfully into the trunk of the nearest foe. Her partner watched Miltia try to keep the attention of all three Grimm, a tremendously difficult prospect and one which stood a very good chance of getting her killed without some solid assistance. But Velvet was not about to stand idly by. A kaleidoscope of colour erupted from the rabbit faunus, spheres and ribbons and bands flying out into the air around her. The simulacrum of a storm filled the forest canopy with lightning and high winds. Into the storm and swirling currents she poured razor-like pulses of power.

None of the Ursa could bring their full might to bear upon Miltiades, suffering repeated wounds at the hands of the unblockable airborne razors. Miltia got behind one of the beasts, which was nearly twice her height, and hamstrung it deftly, kicking off of it to make sure it fell forward. The other two foes turned to face her. One of them quickly started to twitch and rock as carbine fire began to stitch up and down its body. The cavalry had arrived, bringing a wicked grin to Miltia's lips, made all the brighter when a grenade shot landed deftly under the Ursa's foot, blowing the limb off entirely.

As the half-dozen students arrived, the remaining Ursa broke from their hulking master and joined the fray. Miltia's eyes went wide as she suddenly found herself at ground zero of one almighty scrap. In the background of the fight, the great Ursa Major slowly lumbered forward.

With the new arrivals, Velvet dropped her cast and fell to one knee, breathing heavily with the continual exertion. A fright took her as she saw a thunderously charging Ursa end-run the insane melee that was developing and come straight at her. "_Shit!_" she swore as she pointed her staff at it. Before she could unleash her semblance the Ursa's upper-body stopped dead as if it had run into a steel wall. The legs flew out from under it and it skidded along the ground. The great booming retort of Crescent Rose echoed through the forest, quickly followed by a repeat that stove in the Ursa's head.

Velvet blinked, and then shivered anxiously.

* * *

><p>"Right on target, Miss Ruby, well done," complimented Glynda as she watched the head of the Ursa fly apart into rapidly dissolving fragments on her large scroll.<p>

Ruby made no acknowledgement, silently scanning the distant battle through her scope. Several rifle shells were on the ground around them, proof of the sniper-support role the Professors had assigned for her that day. Right behind her, standing anxious watch over her partner, was Weiss. Rather than scan the distant battlefield herself, Weiss waited for fire orders from her teachers. While she waited, she focused on protecting her closest friend like a very prickly guardian angel.

"God, that rifle is loud," muttered Weiss.

"Yeah, fun, isn't it?" asked Yang as she arrived with Blake in tow, both smelling of sweat, burnt Dust, and Grimm.

"Not my cup of tea," complained Weiss.

"Hey, nice job with the Dust lances, Weissy," complimented Yang.

A self-satisfied smile bloomed across Weiss' face. "Of course," she said, causing Blake to roll her eyes.

Light burst in a thousand hues and colours in the distant battle. Something lit up like a roman candle, sparks and flashes through the trees. The sharp crack and snap of carbines, the ripping canvas of StormFlower and the big meaty thumps of Magnhild's grenades continued to wash across the forest, echoing and re-echoing in deceptive ways. In addition to being forested, the ground was not flat, with dells, swells and ridgelines that could hide or divert sound. Atop one of the heights they were largely unaffected by it, but it was a danger for the students below. Modern technology and surveillance helped against such old-world concerns, however.

"There is definitely something else out there," announced Ruby, eye still glued to her scope.

"What do you-," began Yang before Crescent Rose fired into the distant melee again upon spying a target of opportunity. "... see," she finished.

"Just a dark shape, can't tell how far back it is," said Ruby distantly as she concentrated. "But it's pretty big."

Professor Goodwitch turned to her portly colleague and frowned. "Do the drones have a visual on this unknown yet?" she asked.

"Nearly, my dear Glynda, nearly there," announced Port as he operated his own screen, if a touch clumsily. "It is further out than … Ah."

"Ah?" echoed Goodwitch.

Peter Port looked up at her with a grave, forbidding look. "Ah," he repeated in a funereal tone, mustache twitching. "Drone four."

"Miss Schnee, independent firing," said Glynda as she tapped at her scroll, switching to the view provided by that particular remote surveillance drone. When she did her brows shot up instantly. "Ah," she echoed. "Oh my."

Yang and Blake exchanged a surprised glance and moved near to try and look over Glynda's shoulder. They only got a flash of something that looked like a Beowolf, but all hunched and sinister with great big long spines down its back and arms. But it wasn't until they spotted the other Beowolves that only came up to its knees that they realised the tremendous size of the monster. Even thrill-seeking Yang went suddenly pale.

"Miss Rose, new mission," said Glynda without looking. "Has the Ursa Major engaged yet?"

"Nope," replied Ruby airily.

"That is your assassination target, go in at top speed, remove it, then return," ordered Glynda before pressing transmit on her scroll. "Juniper, Maven, avoid the Ursa Major, Winterdiction inbound."

"Professor!" protested Weiss, face aghast. "By herself? That thing is huge!"

"Needs must," snapped Goodwitch in a voice that brooked no dissent.

"Ha, don't stress, Weiss," admonished Ruby as she deployed her scythe in a wave of terrible mechanical noise. "Watch and be amazed." Weiss put her hands on her hips and fixed the irrepressible Ruby with a look.

* * *

><p>Melanie exchanged a confused look with Jaune as the two teams worked to whittle away at the exceedingly tough Ursi. In the roiling chaos of the battle, they had quite forgotten about the Ursa Major that was seemingly waiting for his minions to open the vulnerability in the Beacon students that it would storm through. It was cowardly behaviour that would be condemned as reprehensible in a human commander. However, a Grimm did not survive three hundred years to become an Ursa Major, on the verge of becoming a full blown elder Grimm, by taking personal risks. Other Ursa were replaceable as far as the Ursa Major was concerned.<p>

No one liked to think about it, but there was an intelligence most sinister that glinted out from behind the red eyes of the older Grimm. It always lurked in the shadowed corners of the world to await the laxity of Man. Or, in this case, the laxity of students. And as Jaune and Melanie's teammates battled hard among the tough Ursa, the Major bided its time. But it little realised that its time was running out as well.

Pyrrha was fighting tooth and nail, an enraged and wounded Ursa slamming overhand blows down upon Akouo. To give her the necessary reach she was rotating Milo between spear and carbine as she countered. She carved deep into the Ursa she fought, opening wounds like trenches across the beast's flesh, but to no avail. The great bear-like Grimm roared and shrugged off pain to launch hammering haymakers. She had already killed one, but this particular Ursa was bound and determined to survive, even more so than the rest of its foetid kin.

Across the board it was hard fighting. Though three of the Ursa lay dead and dissolving, many more were still pushing at the students' perimeter. They pushed and twisted the formation, trying to isolate the teams from each other. The Malachite sisters were tag-teaming like only twins could, and together held the link to Pyrrha, who had Jaune next to her. For a moment, she worried about how Jaune was being pushed back, but before it got out of hand, Jaune ducked a blow and struck his immediate foe across the knee, crippling it. But that only served to make Pyrrha an even greater focal point for the Ursi. When a second beast joined as a fresh and ready opponent a trickle of cold dread went through the young Miss Nikos.

"Jaune, I may need some-," she began to say, before a powerful boom went off just behind her ears. Before Pyrrha realised what was happening rose petals were everywhere and a second thunderous blast saw a massive arc of steel cross the forest air. The Mistral girl swore out of shock, stumbling backwards.

Crescent Rose clove through the fresh Ursa from shoulder to opposite hip. Layers of muscle upon muscle gave way before the weight and might of the scythe. Ruby planted both feet as she made her violent arrival, knees bending to absorb the shock. Her back foot came around and slid out. Her grip spread wide and she went into a low sweep. Black smoke gushed forth as she ignited a cross round. The other Ursa tried to back up, but too slowly. Cold steel severed both legs above the knee.

Pyrrha looked on in stunned awe as the beast collapsed unceremoniously. Before she could recover her wits, Ruby had slipped the blade of her scythe beneath the neck of the Grimm. The cross round in the sniper scythe's chamber went off with a shockwave that Pyrrha felt all the way through. Red metal rose up along with the Grimm's head, and with a touch of semblance and a carefully worked sidestep, struck the Ursa squaring off with Melanie in the back. The murderous point-first blow punched through the base of the great Ursa's neck and hammered it into the ground.

The whole process from first blast to last had been a matter of heartbeats. Cartwheeling pieces of Grimm were still landing as Pyrrha's jaw fell open. Melanie lost her footing as she backpedaled from the impaled Ursa and fell on her backside, looking up at Ruby in shock.

"Fucking ... how did you manage that, Ruby!?" blurted Melanie. Ruby's mind was elsewhere, however, preoccupied with the mission Goodwitch had assigned to her. The death of the three Ursi had opened a channel from the centre of the student's line clear through to the Ursa Major. That was about the extent of her interest in the Grimm footsoldiers.

With some space bought at the expense of the slain and slowly dissolving Ursi, Ruby moved out from the other students and held up her left arm, straight up. She held the pose for two seconds, and then hoisted her weapon, blasting off with cross rounds and semblance. Just as she began to accelerate, azure flashes rippled in the corner of her eye. Low-power but numerous bolts flooded the near flank of the Ursa Major. It wasn't much, but it caught the attention of the beast, dragging its arms low, away from its head.

It was the wrong moment for a distraction.

Ruby seemed to almost materialise from her semblance-fuelled burst in a sudden blast of flowers. She came out of the move with scythe in a wide, two-handed grip over her back, one knee up as her body curved. The massive beast filled her sight, the great maw, the razor teeth, the back covered in wicked spines. She was nose-to-nose with the creature, suspended in the air for a breathtaking instant. In her peripheral vision she could see the Ursa Major was raising its arms, but they had been lured too far down and away. Weiss had placed her distraction well.

Every muscle in her body contracted in a wicked snap, rifle firing in perfect synch. It arced with a precise point in mind. The Ursa Major, thirty feet of pure muscle and hatred for human life, was caught utterly flat-footed. The beak of Crescent Rose caught it on the back lip of the skull-plate. The bone armour shattered and did nothing to prevent the heavy scythe blade plunging straight through its neck and out the other side.

For a brief moment the beast froze, in a horrified stasis. It knew any move it made would be the end of it, and the instincts of its last century told it that living on was more important than striking a final blow. If it waited, perhaps another Grimm could save it. Suspended somewhere between the mindless rage of the junior beasts and the cunning awareness of the elder Grimm, the Ursa realised that it was afraid to die. Worse, it could tell in the hideously victorious smile on the face of its pint-sized red and black tormentor, that its killer knew it too.

Nimble and composed, Ruby alighted the haft of Crescent Rose and held on tight as she twisted and fired again. The blade ripped free and came around again, decapitating the creature neatly. With an achingly slow fight against inertia, the Grimm tumbled over backwards, to eventually hit the ground with a tremendous crash. Leaves and dust flew up into a great obscuring cloud. Ruby landed gently upon the creature's chest, and hopped down as it began to dissolve. With a quick glance around to make sure nothing was about to jump out at her, she switched Crescent Rose into rifle form and grabbed the scope.

Behind her the other students were rushing forward. Between their line being crashed and seeing their boss creature slain, the smaller, though still tough, Ursa had been thrown into disarray. In such a state they made for easy pickings for the trainees and they ran over them. The last fell to a coherent beam from Velvet that cut clear through its torso, and through a tree beyond it.

"Holy crap, Ruby," blurted Jaune. Though he himself had a rather large Ursa to his credit, scarce realising the role Pyrrha had played in the victory, this beast was nearly half-again the mass. Even as it very slowly began to dissolve, the sheer intimidating presence made Jaune ever so glad he didn't have to get close to the thing while it was alive. "That was amazing!"

"Well done, Ruby," praised Pyrrha with a broad smile. "I wouldn't have wanted to try to face that all on my own." A thoughtful, concerned look crossed her face. "I'm surprised Glynda sent you like that."

"It was fine," dismissed Ruby, waving her off-hand as she tried to focus down the scope. "Give me a sec guys." She worked the controls that encircled the scope carefully, peering out through the forest.

"Uh, guys, does anyone else feel that?" asked Jaune suddenly. He pointed down towards a clump of long-leaved shrubbery that had escaped the mayhem. After a couple of seconds it trembled.

"Impact tremors," identified Ren, turning to look out over the forest, drawing a muttered curse from Jaune. "What's going on, Ruby?" asked the quiet student.

A voice called out from behind them. "She's getting a better look at something out there in the deeper forest," said Velvet, directing her comment to the slightly confused JNPR students. "So you saw it too?" she followed up, talking to Ruby.

The dark-haired student turned around and fixed her classmate with a look. Velvet frowned with concern as Ruby nodded at her. "Yeah," she confirmed. "Glynda wants us to go back to where she is."

"Gotcha, Ruby," said Jaune. "Alright, team, that's the opposite direction whatever big and ugly thing is out there, so let's go!" he declared before sheathing his ichor-streaked sword and gathering up his team.

Ruby turned around and took one last look at her surrounds to make sure it was safe. But the immediate danger had passed and all the Ursa were dissolving into the forest breeze. Her eyes fell upon the MAVM girls instead, and found them checking on Miltiades. The girl in the red dress was staring back at her with more than a touch of fear, one hand firmly over the barely discernible scar upon her chest. A scar that Ruby had put there, she realised belatedly, with a strike identical to the one that had just killed a very old Ursa Major.

The young team leader sighed and strode into the middle of the Maven girls, right up to Miltia. Careless of watching eyes she reached out and took hold of the Miltia's hand, pulling it away from the old wound. "Enough of that silliness, Miltia," she admonished. "Don't tell me seeing that freaked you out? I already told you, Crescent Rose and I don't do half-hearted."

"What is it that you do, then?" asked Miltia tartly, a flash of anger burning away the anxiety as Ruby had hoped.

"My Uncle has his Four Feathers, I fight in Four Petals style," explained Ruby as she began to walk away, only for the other girls to fall in behind her. "We had slightly different semblances, and very different builds, so I had to change a lot of things."

"You have a name for that strike, don't you," intruded Aurea. "Your asshole sis-," she began before coming up short at the sharp look Ruby gave her. "Erm, I mean your sister told me scythe wielders name everything, because they have to practice everything to get the hand and footwork right under pressure."

"That's right," said Ruby. "They call it the most dangerous of weapons, but until you figure out how to use it, it's as dangerous to you as it is to your enemy." She coughed and laughed self-consciously. "I used to hurt myself a _lot_ with my old training scythe."

"What do you call it, Ruby?" asked Velvet. "What you hit the Ursa Major with. What you hit Miltia with."

"She calls it being an asshole," said Miltia with a bright, dangerous smile.

"Hey, you're back!" cried Ruby happily, arms raised. "You're much more interesting when you're not moping," she declared, earning a fierce glare from the other girl. Ruby turned back to Velvet and shook her head. "Hehe, and why would I tell you all the fun secrets?"

"What do you call it?" asked Miltia instead, doing her best not to flinch when Ruby's gaze snapped around at her. "Well?"

"Withering Rose stance," said Ruby quietly. "The strike itself is Last Petal Falls."

* * *

><p>Glynda looked out over the forest as Ruby returned with teams MAVM and JNPR, her face drawn and grim. Her riding crop weapon twisted nimbly between her fingers as she thought. This encounter was an absolute shock to the Professor. To have something of this size come down out of the inland wilderness was staggering. Centuries could sometimes pass between visitations by these titanic beasts.<p>

"I don't suppose there can be any doubting it," rumbled Professor Port as he watched the drone camera feed.

"It's the size of high-rise, of course there's no doubting it," snapped Glynda, an outburst that didn't faze the other professor. "As if I need someone to tell me."

"We have options, you know," he mused, worrying away at his moustache.

"Options? In what, boarding order for the evac?" asked Glynda aghast. "We're not staying out here."

"We could leave the students in the safety of the clearing and have at the beast ourselves!" suggested Port.

"That is risible, Peter, we'll need more than the two of us Hunters to slay that monster," retorted Glynda before holding up a hand to still the debate, as the rest of the class was approaching.

Around them, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were exchanging alarmed looks. None of them had been near something on such a colossal scale as this Grimm. Yang in particular was flummoxed as she hadn't hit the books as hard as Weiss, or had the wilderness experience of Blake. Not to say that the other two weren't feeling a prickly sense of dread.

Ruby approached the two Professors in a rush of breathless excitement, all but bouncing on her heels. "There's a great elder Beowolf out there," she announced.

"We know," said Glynda sharply.

"What's the plan?" asked the student, scythe coming to rest over her shoulder.

Glynda looked over Ruby's shoulder and made a head count of her students. When she turned and made her way up to twelve students accounted for, she nodded her head in satisfaction. "The plan, Miss Rose," said Glynda, "Is to evacuate in a prompt, orderly fashion. The Bullheads have already been alerted. We're to withdraw to the clearing and await evac."

Ruby leaned forward, her jaw hanging open aghast. "Ehh!? But this is like a once in a lifetime chance, Professor. Come on," she said, dropping her voice to an inviting, conspiratorial whisper. "Let's kill it."

A stunned silence fell among the assembled.

Glynda's worked her jaw a couple times as she stared at Ruby in disbelief. "I'm afrai…," she tried to say before she shook the cobwebs from her head. "That's patently insane, this is a job for an entire team of veteran Hunters of the highest calibre, it would be bordering on criminal neglect to take a class of first years against it."

Pyrrha, Weiss, Yang and Ren rushed to take hold of Ruby and pull her away before she could volunteer the class for any more suicidal antics. Weiss in particular was looking at the girl with disbelief, and when they had the girl safely away, she turned to her and said, "I cannot believe you want to try to take on that monster."

"I can," snorted Yang, her lips tugging high and to the right. "Don't approve, but I saw it coming."

"Ruby, we all appreciate your confidence in the class," said Pyrrha with a nervous smile. "But I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd like a … little more time."

Yang snickered. "Yeah, to live. Eighty years would do me," she said, tapping at her collar. She felt an acorn bounce off her head and turned around to find Blake looking the other way innocently.

"Oh, come on, we're a strong class, there's twelve of us, we can do it," exhorted Ruby. "We just need to convince Glynda."

"Ruby, what are you thinking!?" snapped Weiss with a strained, upset expression. The recklessness that Ruby advocating was painful to someone who wanted to see her stay safe. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Even if we defeated it, half of us wouldn't come back. This is some of the stupidest stuff I have ever heard out of you! Do you have a death wish?" She threw up her hands in frustration. "Leaders must look after the safety of others as well."

Ruby didn't turn from Pyrrha, but her eyes slid across in their orbits towards Weiss, who had to work to keep her composure under the dangerous gaze. She'd angered the young leader, and could see the dark-haired girl require a moment to calm herself. It was enough to stop even Yang's rebuke of Weiss. All of the students around her saw for just a fleeting moment a deathly shadow. Finally, though, Ruby exhaled and half-turned to give her partner a smile.

"Sure, Weiss," said Ruby, returning the unfurled Crescent Rose to its carry form. "Well, if the Bullheads are already coming in, then I guess this whole leadership thing got easy. But I think you're selling this class short."

"Alright, students," announced Glynda, getting everyone's attention. "As you all saw, we have a great elder Grimm coming our way. Clearly," she said, looking directly at Ruby, "This is well beyond this class at present. Now let's quickly return to the landing zone."

Ruby's cheeks burned and she huffed in frustration.

* * *

><p>"Port," said Glynda quietly as she watched the scroll, "I think we have a problem."<p>

"Hmm?" vocalised the other Professor. When Glynda gestured to her scroll, he frowned and checked his own. Port soon recognised the problem. Well, he had thought the impact tremors were getting stronger. "So it's found our scent again. Shall I go and distract it and lead it away?"

"Very noble of you," drawled Glynda, "But I think this requires a little less blunderbuss and a little more mobility."

"Of course," said the Professor with spread hands, wondering who was panicking to draw the attention of the Grimm.

"But you had to at least offer, I know," said Professor Goodwitch. She turned to walk back to the waiting students. "Quick update, our Grimm has apparently noticed us again and is heading this way. I'll draw it off while Professor Port continues to supervise you."

With that simple declaration the veteran Huntress Goodwitch turned to return to the forest. Behind her Ruby took hold of Weiss' wrist, startling the heiress. "Weiss, make sure everyone gets on the Bullhead," she said quickly, before bounding after the iconic warrior.

Weiss blinked wide and slow, before shaking her head. "Ruby, you dolt, get back here! Don't waste her time."

But Ruby hadn't the slightest intention of listening to rejection. She rushed up to Glynda's side, putting her hands behind her back and smiling brightly. "You need me out there, Professor," she declared.

"How do you possibly conclude that?" asked Glynda, startled by the boldness of her student.

"Speed semblance strong enough to allow limited flight, Crescent Rose works at range and also has the blade to hurt a creature like this, I don't freeze up in a crisis," she ticked off confidently, before leaning close and softly adding, "And just between us, I've seen some things. I can lead this thing on a nice chase."

Glynda turned fully to look at the young girl. She knew her file well. In fact, after the Miltiades incident, every teacher in the school was familiar with Ruby Rose's file. From an extended family of Hunters, the girl was a prodigy, but also an uncomfortable enigma for the faculty. But something in the girl's eyes, as well as conversations with Ozpin, made her do something unusual.

"Listen to everything I say, without question," ordered Glynda in a gruesomely stern voice.

"Gotcha," said Ruby with a face as earnest as could be. When Glynda turned around however, she immediately dissolved into a silent but intense celebration, arms pumping with a silent, '_Yes!_' A little victory dance continued for a few seconds before the Professor made crisp half-turn to look back at her student. Ruby instantly straightened, fast enough that a few ethereal rose petals took to the wind. "Professor?" she asked innocently.

Glynda said nothing, but continued on towards the forest edge.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" asked Yang bluntly over the class radio as the younger student began to fall in behind her teacher.

"Going with Glynda," answered Ruby, being quite deliberately obtuse.

Miltiades voice came over the radio, a note of alarm in her tone. "You can't be serious, Ruby." The girl turned and gave Miltia a bemused look, eyebrow cocked. "Don't give me that look-" she began to say, before the whole class was rudely interrupted by a great thunderclap of noise.

"Incoming!" yelled Blake, pointing up into the air. Everyone assembled looked up into the air and were horrified to see a mass of tree trunks suspended in the air, cutting a deceptively lazy course towards them.

"Goodwitch, boost!" yelled Ruby as she sprang up towards her teacher. Glynda reacted with alacrity and flicked her riding crop skyward, propelling Ruby at high speed into the oncoming storm. With her semblance and a judicious blast from Crescent Rose, Ruby picked out an incoming tree and grinned. A plan formed in her mind.

Scintillating beams and bolts from Velvet and Weiss entered Ruby's aerial domain with punch and presence, followed shortly by the distinctive ack-ack blasts of Magnhild in grenade launcher form. It made for a troublesome commute and Velvet was soon apologising over the radio when she nearly caught the young girl in a coherent purple inferno that incinerated one of the incoming missiles. But it was no matter to Ruby as she lined up one of the trunks and collided with it, scythe tail-spike first, and then quickly jumped off to another one with a Cross Round blast. The impact on the tree trunk put it on a trajectory to fall short with much reduced speed.

As she moved between the trunks, Ruby twisted to face the forest and see if she could catch sight of their foe. It was easier than she had expected. The Beowolf had risen to its full height in the midst of the forest and even Ruby had to gulp as she realised it was head and shoulders above the tree canopy at full extension. It did her nerves no good whatsoever, though, when the ancient and powerful Grimm spotted her and emitted a roar that rattled her hard enough to burn off a sliver of her aura. Flights of birds took off across the forest for as far as she could see. Trees rippled outward as if hit by a shockwave. But she had a meagre second to compose herself and hit the next trunk properly. As she had promised her Professor, Ruby did not freeze up in a crisis.

Which was just as well as the Beowolf uprooted a tree and split it into pieces, hurling the whole mass in her direction.

When Glynda noticed the trunks beginning to fall nearly into her lap, she smiled and realised what her student was doing. "Ruby, give me a vector," she called primly into the radio as a series of indigo discs formed around her. She got a rushed answer from the girl, and had to strain to see the direction her arm was pointing, but it was good enough. It was going to be a hard target to miss anyway.

Glynda flashed brightly with power as she whipped her riding crop across towards the forest. One after the other the trunks that were falling her way accelerated hard and shot out at high speed towards their origin. The enraged bellows of the Beowolf told her that whether she did damage or not, she had certainly annoyed the creature.

Knowing she needed to close with the foe, Glynda let the next log fall almost to the ground. With an aura fuelled leap she vaulted onto one end of the log and propelled herself straight up. "Ruby, take us in," she ordered over the radio as she began to rocket up over the forest canopy, in front of her student. The young girl in red and black kicked off a tree trunk moments before it exploded into an expanding cloud of splinters as several of Weiss' sapphire lances caught it.

Ruby laughed gleefully as she outpaced the debris, lining up Glynda in her sights. In her earpiece she heard Weiss begin to give her a verbal volley for being on her target, rather than apologising for sending that many lances that close to her. She ignored the berating, but did notice the barely-concealed panic in Weiss' tone. But everything had to be pushed aside to focus. Ruby collected Glynda as she went by like an express train hooking a mailbag. The Professor wrapped her arms around her student and held on for dear life.

"Take us past it, we need to turn it around!" ordered Glynda as the air whistled past and the Grimm loomed near. The scale of the beast quickly burned itself into the mind of the veteran Huntress and her aspiring Huntress student. A paw the size of a mansion rose from the forest. Even over the wind they could hear the stress and groan of the macro-musculature of the creature work to raise a dozen tons of arm. But it was shockingly nimble and it swung at them with a rocketing speed.

"Split!" cried Glynda as she pushed off Ruby and they both sailed toward either side of the Grimm's head. Ruby went close to the mark, extending Crescent Rose to leave a trench-like wound just under the edge of the skullplate for several meters before she kicked off and flew out over the forest beyond, looking for a nice tall tree to land on. Glynda waited until she was past and then twisted in mid-air and unleashed a dazzling fireworks display; bolts and lances crashed into the thick hide of the creature, cratering and roasting small fields of its skin. The reaction of expending the energy helped her stay aloft, sailing backwards into the forest.

If the Grimm was at all phased by the damage, it didn't show it in the least, turning back into the path of destruction it had carved through the forest and swiping at its two airborne tormentors. Glynda unleashed a powerful series of explosions as the Grimm's right hand came near, blasting a number of the long spines off its arm. These were sent in a flurry of telekinesis back towards the monster's face and body. When the left arm drew near to Ruby she turned Crescent Rose around and fired off a dozen rounds to slow down and then reverse course, kicking her semblance back in and skidding to a landing upon the arm. Taking advantage of Glynda's distraction, she reloaded with a fresh clip of cross rounds and smiled.

* * *

><p>Further away in the clearing, eleven openly freaked out students, and one Professor who was carefully hiding his alarm, watched events unfold on a projection from Port's scroll. Aura levels for both combatants were showing off to the side and everyone followed them anxiously.<p>

"She needs to ease off on her semblance," said Weiss nervously, clutching at the hem of her combat skirt. "She's burning so much aura through it."

"If she does that she's going to get splattered like a bug," countered Blake sharply.

"They can't be trying to defeat that thing?" asked Melanie slowly, still much more unfamiliar with Grimm than the combat alumni.

Weiss opened her mouth to make a sharp reply, but was beaten to the punch by Aurea's loud snort. "Defeat it?" echoed the golden haired tomboy. "They're just trying to lead it away since we can't outrun it. They're only looking to survive being near the fucking thing!" She realised what she said after a moment and glanced over at Port. But instead of the expected admonishment for swearing directly in front of a teacher, he was transfixed by the battle, speaking quietly to Glynda by radio on a closed channel periodically. Aurea exchanged a glance with Melanie, who had noticed the same thing.

"It's necessary," opined Ren softly. "There is no way the Bullheads would survive a hit from that."

"No, they may as well be made of balsa wood against that thing," admitted Pyrrha. "If that Grimm is nearby when they land…"

"We'll all be dead meat," concluded Velvet. "Come on, Ruby…," she whispered.

"Holy crap, she's running up the thing's arm," blurted Jaune in shock.

A clamour rose up from the girls as the Beowolf tried to swat the tiny creature racing along its body, and Ruby only narrowly escaped the strike. The overpressure wave from the hit was enough to send her flying off the arm, towards the creature's chest. The student quickly recovered from her tumbling flight, but not before the Grimm's jaws snapped shut around her, making her classmates cry out in horror. But almost immediately a tooth blew out in a great shattering mess and Ruby flew out the other side.

Yang turned and ran a few steps before abruptly throwing up. Blake was right by her side, holding her hair back. "I can't, I can't," gasped Yang in between convulsions.

Another person knelt down beside her, and Yang looked up, expecting either Weiss or Pyrrha. Instead she was shocked to see Aurea there, looking sympathetic with a hand on Yang's back. "Wh-what?"

"There's a certain part of me that says I should be enjoying watching you freak out … but not over a sibling. I love my brother too much to do that."

Yang gulped in air and nodded at Aurea, before she turned and screamed at Port, "Why the _hell_ did Glynda take my sister up there!?"

Port turned away from the screen to look at her, and then snorted, sending his hanging walrus moustache flying. "Because it was all but suicidal without her, Yang. Your sister's semblance will be what gets her back onto the flight out."

"If it was suicidal then why was she going by herself?" asked Melanie with no small horror in her voice.

The gaze that Peter Port turned on her was a heavy and implacable thing. "Because a Hunter knows when they must die to protect others." After several heartbeats passed in silence he sighed and shook his head. He looked back to Yang and in a more conciliatory voice said, "Your sister is very brave. But I know all of you would likewise put your life on the line when it is your turn to go. Do not make a hero out of Ruby, or of Glynda; today was simply their turn to go, something that you will all experience."

Any reply was forestalled by an crackling buzz across the radio earpieces. "_Goodwitch party, this is Indigo One, we have visual on your position and are commencing landing, thirty seconds out._"

"Indigo One, this is Professor Port, this will be a hot pick up, be ready," called the Professor. "Ignore the equipment, everyone. They won't be coming to a halt, so just jump aboard as they go by."

Blake and Aurea helped Yang to her feet, and the class spread out in a line and waited for the incoming Bullheads. Like the stampeding cavalry of lore, they came in at high speed, well early on the half-minute prediction, opening their throttles to pour retro-thrust into the ground, sparking ground fires. Slowing into a forward coast, they moved away from the fires, towards the students who began to scramble aboard, using aura to fuel their jumps into the cargo holds.

Once aboard, Miltiades took hold of her sister's shoulders and leaned in close. "And you wonder why I don't want a vendetta with Ruby. If we're going to be Hunters then she may be what stands between us and death! And whatever else she's done, she's still a good person at heart."

Melanie turned in surprise, her usual arrogance shot through with a horrible vulnerability. "I never knew they reached that size," she said hoarsely.

"We knew they got pretty big," insisted Miltia.

"Not like that," protested Melanie before she shook her head to continue the argument. "But don't pretend there's not a difference between head knowledge and actually seeing it. 'Can grow to "X" metres in length', can this, can that … Miltia, that thing was like a mountain with a mean attitude."

"I made my peace with Ruby quickly," whispered Miltia with a dark, unamused look, "If that Grimm really scares you, then make your peace with Weiss; you're the last piece of the puzzle. Aurea may hate Yang, but she doesn't pick fights like you do, and anyway, she's not a leader."

"Shut up, sis," muttered Melanie, "I need time to think." Miltiades shook her head and leaned back as the Bullhead lifted up from its hover to jet up into the air. And they all swiftly learned that following on the small screen was nothing compared to looking out from the open cargo hatch of their ride and actually seeing it with their own eyes.

* * *

><p>Ruby blacked out for a second after being clipped by the Beowolf's arm as it went by. She'd cut it ever so slightly too fine. When she came to she realised she was flying straight for a tree trunk. A quick nudge from her semblance let her corkscrew Crescent Rose around the trunk to come to a halt. She gulped down air greedily, using her weapon to hang from the side of the trunk.<p>

"_Ruby, are you okay?_" came Glynda's shockingly calm voice.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," reported Ruby, trying to inject some cheer in her voice.

"_The Bullheads are here, it's time to make our escape_," said Glynda. "_Get up here, I'll need you to help us fly._"

Ruby took one last great big breath and nodded to herself. "Coming, Professor!"

With a mighty blast of petals and the black smoke of yet more cross rounds, Ruby took off from the trunk and rose skywards rapidly. To avoid the Beowolf's notice she kept close to its body as she flew. Her eyes scanned the skies for signs of Glynda, eventually finding her propelling herself away from another swat on a cloud of broken Grimm spines.

Multi-coloured blasts of Dust magery crossed the skies above her, and when she turned to look, she saw the two Bullheads flying just above the treetops. Intense fire was pouring out of the two aircraft. All of the students who had a ranged weapon or ability were unleashing whatever they could to distract the Beowolf.

Glynda saw Ruby flying up towards her and jumped away from the debris into Ruby's path, who caught her as she flew up. Below them, the Beowolf reached down to scoop up a trio of trees, which it began to snap into small chunks. Ruby let herself fall to land upon one of the paws, much to her teacher's consternation.

"Trust me!" said Ruby when she heard the protest start. "And hold on!"

Not paying attention to the tiny problems on its hands, the Beowolf focused on the annoying aircraft and hurled the broken trees at them. As it let go of the trees however, it also propelled Ruby and Glynda at breakneck speeds, and with Ruby's semblance and weapon pushing them further, they soon overtook the trees in the race to the Bullheads. The sight of all the Dust missiles and tracers flying past her head to destroy the trees behind them terrified Ruby to her core. Never had she seen such concentrated firepower and all of it was far too close for comfort. Thankfully, Glynda was also active, nudging aside the chunks of tree and knocking them into each other.

When the last arboreal missile was waylaid, Ruby reversed Crescent Rose and threw everything into her semblance. Weiss's gravity glyph appeared behind her, and she decelerated so fast it dropped both her own and Glynda's aura into the red. But they finally landed safely in the cargo hold of the Bullhead alongside the RWBY and MAVM girls.

"Ruby!" cried Yang as she pounced onto her sister. "Never do that again!" she demanded.

"Oh, gross, get off me, sis!" protested Ruby, pushing Yang away, immediately realising her sister had been throwing up. "Gross-gross-gross-gross!"

* * *

><p>They landed in a clearing ten minutes later, so Glynda could rejoin Port. All of the students were sternly warned that the arrival of the ancient Grimm was considered an "incident", and the mission was now under investigation and thus deemed secret. None of them were allowed to talk about it outside the class, except with faculty and full-fledged Hunters.<p>

Afterwards they had taken off, with Ruby leaning back against the far wall of the cabin. Yang was finally allowed near her again after the older sister had taken the opportunity to wash out her mouth when they had landed. After taking a minute to hug Ruby like an accountant with a stress ball, she had fallen into silence. Jaune had come over and said, "Thank you, Ruby," a gesture repeated by everyone else in the class, which sent Ruby even more crimson than her scythe.

"No, seriously," protested Ruby as the Bullheads resumed their flight. "I hardly did anything. I just buzzed around like a fly. A really sneaky fly." She had quickly realised the whole class had missed her getting smacked into a tree, which relieved her greatly. She didn't want any of them to fuss over her like that. "Look, my semblance happens to be speed and it happened to line up with that thing. I could help out, so I helped out. Stop making a big deal about it."

"Still wish we had tried to fight it?" asked Blake dryly, a smile on her face. Weiss nearly hissed with irritation at the idea.

"Oh, come on, we could do it," retorted Ruby. "Weiss freezes its foot, I cut the achilles, then you use that fancy Checkmate move we've been working on and Blake can cut into its neck after it falls over. Nora and her grenades do the rest!"

"Easy as that, huh?" asked Yang, not smiling yet, but slowly relaxing as she realised her sister had really come to no harm bar a badly taxed aura.

Ruby eyed her sister for while. "It could happen," she said quickly under her breath, prompting Yang to snicker.

"Of course, sis," allowed Yang.

* * *

><p>"Alice is waiting for you," noted Velvet as the Bullheads eased their way down toward the landing pads.<p>

"Is she?" drawled Miltia as she saw the red and black backpack in her girlfriend's hands.

"Well, why else would she be here?"

Miltia smiled with displeasure, a tight and angry thing. "Just wait."

Velvet pawed at the base of her Faunus ears, not sure how to take that comment. But as the Bullhead's railing kissed the landing pads, her keen Faunus senses picked out the red rose symbol on the backpack. "Oh...," she whispered.

"What?" asked Miltia.

"That's Ruby's backpack," whispered Velvet.

"I figured," said Miltia, as if discussing the weather. But there was a note under her voice like twisted piano wire that told Velvet she was not a happy little Huntress. It was enormously conflicting for her, made so much worse because she also felt grateful to Ruby for helping them get away from the big Grimm.

The powerful roar of the engines fell to a tame murmur as the aircraft settled into the deck. The eight trainees aboard disembarked, hopping off in a rush and starting to stretch and disperse. As Velvet stuck close by her side, Miltiades Malachite stepped away from the pack and looked across the bay to where Alice stood at the top of the steps leading up to the platform. At first she tried to fold her arms and cast a defiant look, but after a moment her hands slipped from the brace and she clutched at the hem of her skirt.

'_Oh god, what do I even say?_' she asked herself, wrestling with her timidity. The anger was still there, though slowly losing ground. Between her talk with Ruby, burying herself in Grimm, that terrifying encounter with the Beowolf, then another hour flight home, Miltiades had lost the furious edge of her anger. Something fatigued and anxious had wormed into the space it had occupied.

From the corner of her eye she saw Ruby. The girl walked up to Alice with all the shamelessness of innocence. She watched as Alice handed over the backpack, saw that poisonously knowing look in her girlfriend's eyes as she talked to the goofily grinning younger girl.

"Don't start a fight," said Velvet, before her voice went rather dry. "But I'd suggest going over and reminding them you're still here."

"Hmph," said Miltia, forcing her hands away from the hem of her skirt, straightening up. She glanced back at Velvet as she began to step forward. "And why would I possibly want to start a fight?" Velvet's eyes went wide with alarm, but Miltia was walking towards her two great frustrations already.

Alice looked up as Miltia approached and offered her a lopsided smile, a little self-consciously. "Safely back, my Miltia," she said with a bashful undertone. "I shouldn't have been so worried, I know. You have all the talent in the world, but your first time back in the field; forgive me, but I was fretting the whole way."

"I was fine, Alice," reassured Miltia. "My aura hardly even got scratched." She held her hands out wide and added, "See, all in one piece."

Alice's eyes went soft as she beheld Miltiades in her strength. The ailing sun's light gleamed on the long claws and danced in the corona of her dark hair. She was so strong. She was so beautiful. Chagrin swept Alice's features. "No thanks to my actions," she conceded ashen faced. "My Millie, I didn't mean to distract you so. You weren't meant to learn of this little tryst before your mission," she said quietly. "I'd have told you, of course I would, those are our terms. But you were meant to find out only once safely returned to humble Beacon."

"For future reference," said Miltia, glancing between Alice and Ruby, who was still there and looking nervous. "Although I don't know what I'll do if this repeats, but for future reference, when you've been wearing a unique fragrance that no one else in the Academy has, do something to mask the smell."

"Yeah, Weiss noticed it straight away as well," added Ruby abashedly. "I told you those hickeys were going to get me in trouble," she added quietly, glaring at Alice and missing the wince on Miltia's face.

"Miss Schnee knows?" repeated Alice, her calm breaking slightly. She looked up and over at the young Miss Ruby's friends and found the society queen giving her a look as frosty as her namesake. Alice blanched. '_That … may cost me_,' she thought to herself anxiously. '_I haven't thought this through properly._'

"You're carrying Ruby's bag, she would have figured it out anyway," pointed out Miltia.

"Ruby had been running errands, I could easily enough...," began Alice before she stopped and crossed her arms. Her lashes fluttered shut. "Well, if you must know, I was so busy thinking about you that I forgot about Miss Schnee."

"This is what happens when you try and stage-manage everything rather than just being honest with me," accused Miltia sharply. Alice recoiled with her eyes wide, surprised by the sudden volley. "Don't think I missed what you were doing, Alice," continued Miltia, hands on her hips and body inclined forward. "I know it's what you've grown up being taught, plan everything, stage-manage everything. But if you're in any way serious about me, try honesty instead!"

Alice clasped her hands together and dipped her shoulders in towards Miltiades, her chagrin darkening her cheeks. "I…," she tried to say before she faded off. Both girls knew the accusation was right on the money. Alice didn't say anything else for a long while.

Ruby glanced between the two older girls and made her escape, rushing back towards her team. Blake and Yang were looking at her aghast. Weiss, of course, had already known of her younger partner's new scandal and was sharing some very sharp words with the other two girls. The young team leader just shouldered her reacquired bag calmly.

"Alright, let's go back to the dorm," she suggested cheerfully. "It'd be nice to clean-up before we go eat."

Blake looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Ruby, did you and Alice…?"

"What, sleep together? No, that'd be absurd!" dismissed Ruby with a bright smile. They all looked at each other silently. The younger girl's gaze flicked across towards Alice and Miltia. Softly, she added under her breath, "We just made out a bit." Blake and Yang exchanged a disbelieving look, so Ruby added, "Or a lot."

"An 'errand'," drawled Yang. "Nice euphemism. I'll remember that."

"Yang…," complained Ruby with a huff.

"We need to talk later, Rubes," said Yang with a little amusement in her tone. When Ruby began to launch into a protest, Yang put up her hands, presenting an open look. "Nah, no Dad talk, promise. I've got things I want to tell you about, okay? Not just stuff I want to ask you about.

Ruby stopped and looked at her sister for a while. "You want to tell me stuff, Yang?" she repeated with a bemused and mirthful expression. "Well, that's a big surpri… _wait_, stuff about yourself, right?"

"Hey!" protested Yang. "Where's the trust!?"

The eponymous team leader tried to maintain a frown for half a second, but it soon dissolved into laughter. "Alright, sure thing, sis," she decided. "We can talk whenever. Except not tonight, I'm so tired I could _die_," she groaned slumping and tilting her head back. "I could curl up and nap on anything softer than sandpaper."

"Tomorrow night?" suggested Yang quickly.

"But I was going to spend it talking to Weiss...," objected Ruby, looking at her partner hesitantly.

"Oh, don't worry about me," groaned Weiss. "I'm getting early nights, using my semblance that hard for that long against that great elder wore me out terribly."

* * *

><p>When dusk fell and the sky was painted in the purple gloom of twilight, two girls made their way to the storage rooms of Beacon. They carried bags containing tools and parts. With a quick tap of their scroll upon the plate beside one of the myriad roller doors, machinery sprang into life to open the way.<p>

Once within, one of the girls tapped a button by the door, which closed again with a soft rattle and clamour. Darkness fell upon the room as the exterior lamps were occulted behind the roller doors. After a second an overhead light flickered into dim and gloomy life.

"Show them to me again," whispered one of the young students.

The other girl silently reached up and slipped the ribbons of her bow loose. The protective covering came free in her hand and she stood there erect with all the confidence she could manage.

Yang walked up and ran a thumb along the outline of the cat ears affixed proud to Blake's crown. "All this time, they were right here under my nose," she whispered distantly. "I must be the biggest dummy."

"What does that make Ruby and Weiss?" asked Blake wryly.

"I never would have figured it out on my own," laughed Yang. A fey expression crossed her face. "Although a few things make a lot more sense now." She turned away, shaking her head with a goofy grin on her face. "My very own partner. What's next, is Ruby a wolf-faunus? Is Weiss a snow fox-faunus?"

"No, it's just me and Velvet in our class," reassured Blake as she rolled her eyes. "And you, a White Fang auxiliary. Any more surprises for me?"

"I have a body count," said Yang offhandedly as she set her tools down next to Bumblebee, the powerful motorcycle that occupied the centre of the storage garage. After racing around the city for the first time in a long while, the golden lady needed some wrenching. "Snitches, possible snitches, rivals causing trouble. One of Junior's men."

"So does everyone else in this team," retorted Blake. That got Yang's attention as she looked up from where she sat alongside her motorcycle. "You, me... God's Horns, Yang, they raised me to be a trigger agent, trained me since I was ten. Weiss also has her skeletons from her battles with us faunus. Several of the notches on Myrtenaster's hilt are probably people like us."

"And Ruby has those two agents," completed Yang, turning to focus intently upon the engine.

"You don't honestly think Ruby just pulled that out of nowhere, do you?" asked Blake with a pitiless snort.

"No...," sighed Yang with feeling. Her eyes were lidded with regret. "But I don't have any clue what's going on. I went long stretches without seeing her, you know? Uncle Qrow took care of her training and they often went on trips, disappearing for a week here, a week there, sometimes longer. And she'd disappear to go do her own thing." Yang hunched her shoulders before adding. "I was so caught up in my stuff, I didn't always make sure she was okay. Now I wonder what she was doing."

"I took Miltia's accident at face value," continued Blake darkly, "But combined with the agents, breaking Alice's aura..." She trailed off, letting her thoughts hover in the air, unsaid yet heard with brutal clarity.

"Did you know them?" asked Yang as she began to lay out her tools.

"Not personally," said Blake. "The bunny-girl agent was a very distant acquaintance. I still know some people on the fringes who will talk to me, now that the Fang knows I'm still alive. I know the agents' names." Blake bit her lip before adding, "They told me other things. There were other fatalities from that battle." Her eyes found Yang's, the golden gaze sharp. "They both bite deep." She shrugged a depressed little gesture. "Not that I can tell the girls what I know."

A solemn silence fell over them like a blanket. Neither girl was uncomfortable with the quiet, just tending their melancholy together like a drunk at the barstool nursing a shotglass.

"You faked your death?" asked Yang.

The faunus girl just looked up at the ceiling while her body language closed itself off.

It was clear she didn't want to talk about it. "Heh, a question best saved for the second half of a gin bottle?" suggested Yang rhetorically as she checked her spark plugs. Blake's gaze fell upon her and smiled when Yang pushed it no further. A comfortable silence fell.

A long time passed between them; Yang maintaining her bike, Blake by turns helping her and watching, contemplating. Pieces of Bumblebee began to bloom across the garage as Yang made her way through her checklist. There was a methodical intensity in how Yang approached her bike that caught Blake by surprise. Exhaustive in her attention to detail, the blonde rider treated the bike in a manner more akin to a master jeweller with a magnifier than a typical mechanic. An idle little voice interrupted Blake's treasured melancholy with an irreverent, '_I wonder if she pays the same attention when she kisses?_' Blake looked away with a sudden starburst of colour in her cheeks.

They still hadn't kissed yet.

"Couldya pass me that socket wrench?" asked Yang as she lay upon her side, working at something Blake couldn't identify at the base of the engine.

When Blake reached in with the required instrument, Yang reached up and missed, instead slipping her fingers around the faunus girl's wrist. "Oh!" was the reaction from the couple. Yang twisted onto her back, looking up from the mat as her golden hair spread in a corona about her face.

"Sorry, Blakie, I must be boring you silly," apologised Yang.

"I like watching you work," dismissed Blake as she knelt beside her new girlfriend.

Yang cocked her eyebrows as she propped herself up on her elbows, rising towards the other girl. "Let's see, which novel are you thinking of right now?"

Blake blinked repeatedly, rearing back a little. Her cats ears twitched awkwardly as she tried to forestall her own answer. "If you thought to ask," she said, "Then you probably already know."

"I might have an idea. Sorry, this is only a motorcycle, not a convertible with leather seats like the book," lamented Yang teasingly.

In truth, the talk of death served less to suppress and more to kindle a desperate sort of life within the two Huntress trainees. The panicked frisson from the beyond in their last battle as they stared down deathly creatures born of ancient days instead sparked a helpless need within them. Recognising the grim disorder of their team heightened the issue.

And so the socket wrench slipped from Blake's fingers to fall upon the mat as Yang pulled her tautly near and kissed her feverishly.

* * *

><p>Junior rubbed at his brow behind the bar in the early morning. The club was closed, the crowds dispersed and he was left with only the company of his henchmen. His henchmen, that is, and one girl in a tan and cream dress, decked with frill and chocolatey fur. It was a gorgeous dress, a battle dress that had been by turns forged and tailored, each stage to an exquisite standard. Junior paid good coin to make sure his right hands had the right defence.<p>

Not to mention the right look, which this one had in spades.

Her hair was brown with reddish highlights, standing out over her pale skin. The girl was tall, very tall, even without her wicked boot heels. Probably even taller than that vixen Yang who had wrecked his club, Junior figured, though he was careful not to look at those deceptive boot heels as he tried to measure them up in his head. Seeing people looking at her heels reminded her she was in that battle dress and god did she ever hate that dress. She loved the work, but the uniform was a killer.

'_Gotta keep up appearances, though_,' reiterated Junior in his head. The arguments over the dress had been prolonged and fierce. His new hire was stubborn as a rock, but she was smart and powerful. Getting her to toe the line without driving her off had been one of his greatest balancing acts. '_We're just a nightclub and we have to look the part, especially if anyone from the tax __office comes by._'

The girl strode up to the bar and popped a leather bag upon the countertop. She looked at him from over the top of her sunglasses. "Hey," she said, leaning against the counter and leafing through some papers.

"Are you seriously still wearing those sunglasses indoors?" asked Junior derisively as he ran a towel over more glasses. "Past midnight, too," he added with a chuckle.

"I have to make some concession to fashion given how you insist on dressing me up," retorted his new enforcer. The replacement for the Malachite girls had been easy to find. Of course, she had also been extremely difficult to recruit. "This kind of girl isn't my style," she said with a snort, dropping the file noisily on the bar and putting her hands on her hips.

Junior chuckled silently behind the bar at her reaction. "Sure thing, kiddo," he replied, noting with amusement as she tried to stare him down. Oh, her look could melt steel, he gave her that. She hated being called kiddo, not that she could do anything about it. Hei Xiong was made of stern stuff and it took more than a teenager's The Look to rattle him. "What do you have for me?" he said bluntly.

"Starting from the top," said the girl, tone still stormy and dangerous about the use of the pet name. "Your girl Ruby Rose is a team leader at Beacon. She leads her sister: your friend Blondie. Fun story, our friends at the Fang tell us Yang used to be part of one of their human smuggling cells. Quite the naughty one," she said with a smoky look over the top of her sunglasses.

"Let's see…," she continued while she checked her notes. "Different baby mamas, same baby daddy, all Hunters. Looks like only the father Taiyang Xiaolong is still alive." She flipped open the folder and laid it on the bar. "Also, one Blake Belladonna. White Fang runaway, they just recently found her again. It seems she was a pretty high level agent, too."

"How high?" asked Junior with a grunt.

"High enough that they don't talk about it. High enough that they want her back," answered the enforcer with a shrug. "Try to make sure you see her before she sees you was the advice I got. Just for fun, Ruby's partner is Weiss Schnee, the SDC ladyship her very own self, out of Atlas. Must not know about her naughty friends, or I bet the heiress would have shown some claws. Not that her own fights with the militants have been all sugar and spice. Both the Vale and Atlas branches of the Fang hate her guts." She looked up and flicked brunette locks back over her ear. "By the way, society girl queen and fashion trendsetter, I would _love_ to meet this girl. The invites she could get me..."

"Do you have anything specific on this Rose girl?" asked Junior.

"Not really," admitted the girl with a bashful shrug. "Attended Signal, did a lot of one on one work with her uncle, Professor Qrow. Lots of time in the wilderness training. Paid dividends too, she is a fucking prodigy. I mean her sparring classes alone netted a dozen serious injuries. Kid's got style. But outside of that, there's not much to say. Like, weirdly hard to find things. People who may know don't want to talk. I even got warned off her by some guy. The nerve," she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"How'd that end up?" asked the man behind the bar in surprise.

"Yeah, his nose will heal," shrugged his enforcer with artful nonchalance, trying to hide her pride. "I mean, he'll need professional medical care, but it should get back to a vague, nose-esque sort of look. If he ever had modelling days, they'd be pretty done now, though."

Junior chuckled a little nastily. "Good to see you're getting the hang of talking with the locals. But she had to leave something for you to follow," he argued after a moment.

"I've got some 'friends' who I think are holding out on me," she agreed. "You know, people on the fun end of town. Not many though, when I show the photo I tend to get blank looks. But a couple of these jackasses know something, and they clam up on me. I'll loosen their tongues, but it'll take some time."

"This is a high priority, kiddo," warned Junior sternly. "Getting back this contract as first port of call for the White Fang after that fiasco with Blondie was _hard_. Make sure you get quick results."

"Yeah, yeah," waved off the girl, letting the pressure wash away. "There's something in here more interesting for you though. Their classmates. First you have these poster children," she began, setting out the photos of team JNPR. "The boy is a nobody. The redhead with the legs, and surprisingly good fashion sense for someone in armour, was four-time Mistral Regional Tournament champion."

Junior grunted, recognising her from the ridiculously and inappropriately delicious box of cereal that was a staple in his cupboard. "Okay…"

The lingering music which had persisted past closing time finally shut off, interrupting the young enforcer's train of thought. "Hey, Deadbear!" she yelled with a rather unfeminine gesture. The girl leaned forward, looking across the club to the DJ in the bear hat, glaring at him from across the dance floor. "Where'd my tunes go? I didn't say you could pack up yet."

Music hastily returned to the club's sound system. "Not much to say about the other two," continued the explanation under the cover of the sound system. "Strong, but haven't made much of a ripple yet. She's a half-mad hammer fanatic and he's a silent type."

"And the third team in the class?" prompted Junior.

"Old schoolmate of Yang's; her name's Aurea Perrault," proceeded the agent. "She hates Blondie, you'd love her. And Velvet Scarletina, nothing really interesting herself but her family were big in the Rights Movement. Outwardly they're all with the peace faction, but I'm told they have some shady old links to the more militant side of the fence. Who to believe, I wonder? Haven't looked in depth there, yet."

"Which one's the leader?" asked Junior with a low harrumph.

"Neither," said the enforcer as she held up two photos with a flourish, like a great showman. "It's the one in the white dress," she announced, laying the photos on the table.

"No," denied Junior. "No, absolutely not, there's no way. _That's_ where they ended up when they fell off the grid?"

"Seems so, she's one of Ruby's fellow team leaders," said the enforcer. "Miltiades, by the way, is reported to be getting hot and heavy with the heiress to Sgathan House."

Junior tossed his cleaning rag onto the counter and ran a big bear paw of a hand over his face. "That makes for a _lot_ of money tied into this group. Strange, very strange. All these girls back in the same class, with White Fang links, links to Neo, links to money."

"Hey, what're you thinking?" queried the brunette curiously.

"Kiddo, I'm thinking someone has tried to chisel me," grunted Junior. "You've given me a book of coincidences. _Never_ trust a coincidence."

"You're reaching pretty hard, boss," objected the girl.

"Just keep digging, kiddo," ordered Junior bluntly. "I'll get to the bottom of this."

* * *

><p>"A great elder Beowolf," recited the headmaster carefully as he looked out over the shimmering nightlights of the campus below. He turned around slowly to rejoin the others, a slightly ghoulish smile on his lips. "Quite the big daddy," he added with macabre humour.<p>

His most trusted professors shared his office that evening; Glynda Goodwitch, Peter Port, and Bartholomew Oobleck. Only Oobleck stood, although he refrained from exercising his semblance and remained in one place. So inured to caffeine was he that even in such a late hour he still sipped from his mug. Glynda was seated with her riding crop suspended over her lap. Port was leaning back on his chair, bombastically bothering his moustache.

"How close is it?" asked the headmaster as he moved to join his colleagues, taking a seat before his desk.

"Initial sighting was one hour away by Bullhead, a meagre five hundred kilometers as the Nevermore flies," reported Oobleck. "After being given a bloody nose by Glynda and Peter's class party, it has moved in an orbit around Vale, neither advancing closer nor withdrawing."

"Clearly, the beast is attracted to the city," declared Peter Port as he folded his arms across his barrel chest.

"Clearly," agreed Ozpin slowly.

"We are constituting a team of Hunters who can handle this creature," continued Oobleck. "I hope to have them ready to fly by tomorrow."

"I want to lead the expedition," stated Glynda, brooking no opposition in her tone.

"Very well, I'll find replacement lecturers for your classes," accepted Ozpin reflexively. "Tell me, Glynda, gentlemen, when was the last time we had a great elder get within five hundred kilometers? A mere three day march to the capital for a beast that needs neither food nor rest. A solitary day from the outlying towns and settlements."

The other Professors looked to Oobleck, who took a sip as he searched his memories. "Not since the Mountain Glen fiasco," he said at last. "Before that? The last time we saw a Grimm that had achieved their final growth spurt this close to the city was during the great crises that racked Vytal."

"Some two hundred years ago, in other words," concluded Ozpin.

"Correct," said Oobleck as the professors exchanged another look.

"General Ironwood will be arriving at some point during the weekend," mused the headmaster. "See to it that this monster is slain before he arrives. And I mean slain, Glynda," fixing the professor with a look. When he spoke his colleagues all heard the Huntsman that lay beneath. "Choose your team wisely, but swiftly. You will return having killed this threat to Man, Professor, or you will not return."

Ozpin had high standards and little use for a safety net for his students. With his fellow Hunters he expected the same standards he expected of himself. Remnant was a cold and pitiless place outside the Kingdoms. Therefore the Hunter must be the same.

"I understand," replied Professor Goodwitch coolly. A veteran herself, and a long term confidante of the headmaster, she had expected nothing less. And as a Huntress she would accept no other standard of herself. Grimm the size of high-rises or not, Vale would be defended. "Before the end of tomorrow," she declared, fully prepared to stake her life on the mission.

The three subordinates stood to take their leave, when Ozpin spoke again from his seat, "I would like you all to keep your ear out in the city. There is a panic being brought on by this Dust-theft crime spree. If this is now starting to attract truly powerful Grimm, then we must consider that there may be a method to the madness."

"Are you suggesting whoever is responsible wants to attract Grimm?" asked Glynda.

Ozpin nodded her way. "Yes."

* * *

><p>Night fell upon Beacon Academy. The ornamental lights shuttered, the hallways dimmed. Security lights remained, little flashes of vigilance. Yet beneath the cover of darkness was a hive of activity from the faculty and the Hunters who lodged at Beacon. Students who lived in the wing of the dormitory system closest to the landing pads woke angrily at repeated flights of Bullheads.<p>

The activity continued on through the night. In the final minutes preceding the dawn, Glynda Goodwitch stepped out of the administration block, breathing in the fresh air. She admired the earliest dark blue pastels that spoke promisingly of the sun to follow. Her brisk gait led her team down a similar path to that which her students had taken the day before. Down to the main avenue; down to the landing pads.

Among those mighty veterans who boarded the Bullhead with her to go hunt the millennia old beast was a dark man in a dusty cloak bearing a scythe in sable with cardinal trim.

Yet again the students in the nearby dormitory awoke, many resolving to lodge complaints, but after this the pads fell silent, leaving a lull in activity at the school. A lull, and an anxious wait in the mission control centre in the heart of the great tower of the Academy's administration block.

* * *

><p>"Where's Glynda?" asked Jaune quietly of Pyrrha.<p>

The weary students filtered into the lecture theatre together on the Friday morning, feeling rather the worse for wear after the previous day's heroics. An unfamiliar lecturer was present for their Dust Interactions class, a woman who was busily writing her name upon the blackboard.

"I know as much as you do," admitted Pyrrha as they took their seats.

'Professor Carmeline' was the completed name. She was young for a Professor; in Beacon that was usually the sign of someone who either had a passion for teaching, or was mentally recuperating from burnout as a Hunter. The Professor was a pink-haired cat faunus, short of stature who wore very high heels to compensate. Her weapon was a warhammer fitted with a complicated system of Dust mechanisms feeding into the head. Blake had been instantly relieved that she had applied deodorant very liberally that morning, a practice she had commenced after Velvet had identified her scent in their first mission.

Up the front of the class the new professor coughed meaningfully to get everyone's attention. "As Professor Goodwitch will not be taking your classes today, I will be your relief lecturer for this morning's classes." The newcomer shuffled some papers on the lectern as she added, "This information is not to be spread beyond this class; however, because of your involvement in yesterday's events, it is appropriate to keep you informed to suppress panic. Professor Goodwitch will be leading a team to eliminate the large Grimm you encountered."

The relief teacher left the lectern and strode towards the benches. "So please let go of any anxieties you may be holding and focus on your studies. My name is Professor Carmeline and we will be going through today's lecture as per normal. I trust you have all completed the homework Glynda had assigned you last week?"

"Oh," mooted the Jaune, exchanging another glance with Pyrrha.

To their right, Nora Valkyrie's hand popped up straight as an arrow. When the relief teacher blinked and invited her to speak, Nora grinned broadly. "Hey, teach, the homework is interesting and all, but just the other day we kind of saw this thirty-story tall Grimm, which was all _rawr_," she described enthusiastically before stopping her comment to raise her hands with fingers clawed, as if she were a terrible Grimm herself. A ripple of nervous giggles and laughter swept the lecture theatre.

"Miss Valkyrie, wasn't it?" asked the lecturer.

"That's me!" confirmed Nora. "Or Queen Nora, or Castellan Nora, or Ren's Caretaker, or-"

"Thank you, Nora, that will do," protested the Professor, holding up her hands with a smile. "I'm afraid I really shouldn't be talking about this. Normally, information about such creatures is restricted to third-years and above."

"Why would you possibly have a policy like that?" asked Blake bluntly. "If we could encounter Grimm like that, isn't that need to know?"

"That is a question to take to either Headmaster Ozpin or Professor Goodwitch," replied Professor Carmeline coolly, giving Blake a dark look. "Not my pay grade, so do not ask again."

Blake said nothing, instead just folding her arms upon the desk and giving the lecturer a disgruntled look.

"How about the 'what'?" asked Aurea, a similarly irritable note in her voice. "I've never even heard of a critter that size. I mean it was bigger than the older Goliaths people still see sometimes. And so much faster."

Professor Carmeline exhaled sourly and looked about the room with a disgruntled expression. "I guess now that you've seen it, it is better to give you details rather than let you try and invent them," she admitted, causing the class to relax ever so slightly.

"Okay, this is all Professor Port's area of expertise, so you'd do better asking him for the nitty-gritty details," sighed the relief teacher. "But basically this: Grimm never die of old age. In the absence of violent action, they live forever."

"Uh, what, like actually _forever_?" asked Velvet. "Or forever as in like, centuries?"

Carmeline laughed dryly, a sound carrying a bitter and worn sound. Ruby and Yang exchanged a look; they recognised that sound from their father before he had taken a sabbatical from Hunting one year. The Professor shook her head. "Aha, I know, guys, I shouldn't laugh. But know that Grimm live much longer than centuries."

The lecturer turned to the black board and drew a graph with a single diagonal line, which she intersected in three places. "Okay, basic human biology question: everyone here understands puberty and the growth spurt that comes with it?" She got a murmured acknowledgement from her temporary class. "Now, humans only get one of these. Almost all of you are at an age where you have ceased growing and are now just filling out as you finish maturing. Yes, I see you there Ruby, you'll get another couple inches most likely and finish near your sister's height."

Professor Carmeline turned to face the class with a pinched look on her face. "Unlike Man, Grimm never stop growing. They continue to get slightly larger every year until they are slain. And the older they get, the cannier and smarter they get." She returned to the board and wrote names next to the three points her graph was intersected.

"However, Grimm do have growth spurts. Three of them. For Beowolves, they come after fifty to one hundred years, at which point they become a Beowolf Alpha, or an Ursa Major when it comes to those beasts. At three to four hundred years old, at which point they become an elder Grimm, exponentially tougher. The Nevermore and Deathstalker you saw at your initiation were elders."

"We killed something over three hundred years old at initiation?" asked Pyrrha in shock.

"If you think that's impressive," drawled the professor, turning her head to fix Ruby with a look. "I saw the battle analysis from your fight yesterday. The Ursa Major had started its next growth spurt, and was probably about three hundred itself. And you killed it practically by yourself, Miss Rose." She smiled as if it were merely painted on, without a jot of warmth. '_You've made yourself the talk of the faculty_,' thought Carmeline to herself. '_Again_."

"Oh, I couldn't have done it without Weiss distracting it," demurred Ruby, making her ivory-haired partner sit up straighter and smile.

"After about a millennia," continued Carmeline, tearing her eyes away from the girl who had managed to become the gossip of not just the teachers, but also the Hunters this time. "They undergo a tremendous growth spurt, easily doubling in size over the space of fifty years, becoming the behemoth you saw. If you're lucky, you catch them during this time, because they're uncoordinated as drunks."

"So why haven't we heard of them?" asked Pyrrha.

"Because the only way a Grimm can live long enough is to make their home in the deep wilderness, away from the Kingdoms," answered the teacher.

"So what happened here?" asked Yang as she leaned back and folded her arms over her chest.

"Still being investigated," admitted the teacher. "But that's all I have to say. If you want to know anything else, pester Professor Port or Professor Goodwitch. Understood?" The class quickly acknowledged. "Okay, now that we have that sorted, could you all submit that homework now?" said the relief teacher, eager to move on.

Everyone in the room sighed and muttered and opened their scrolls, submitting homework assignments electronically. The lecture began, much the same as any other. Semi-valuable information was spewed forth for the students to catch as they may. Some, like Pyrrha, learned a great deal, while others, like Nora, would have perhaps benefited from spending less time attempting to see if they could braid Ren's hair without him noticing. And some, like Weiss and Velvet, were moribund with boredom at having to rehash material very basic to their craft.

Half an hour into the lecture, Pyrrha leaned into Jaune to whisper discreetly, arm sliding up against him. "Having any trouble?" she asked, just before she looked over and saw prodigious page of notes he had accumulated. "Are you doodling?" she asked, a little uncertainly as she saw a series of symbols.

"Hmm?" replied Jaune until he noticed where she was looking. "Oh ha, ha, very funny," he said while rolling his eyes. When Pyrrha blushed he thought it through a little further. "Structural diagrams describing the Dust interactions," he explained with a shrug. "This is all pretty straight-forward chemistry. Sorry, forgot they teach the simplified symbols in combat schools."

Pyrrha rubbed the back of her head, a reflexive sorry on the tip of her tongue. It was easy for her to forget given what a novice he was in other areas, that just because he hadn't attended a combat school, didn't mean he hadn't attended school. "Know all of this, then?" she asked.

"Nah, learning heaps of stuff," denied Jaune. "My chem units were long on theory, short on practical. Actually kinda interesting to have such a practical focus."

"Right," said the tournament champion as she saw the notations and wondered to herself if anyone in the class was actually gleaning as much of the relief teacher's lecture as Jaune was. "Speaking of practical focuses," she began.

"Yeah?"

"Were you still interested in going out for some combat-school style practice now that you've had a chance to clear your head?" she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.

Jaune sat back on the bench, chewing at the inside of his cheek in though. "The grind," he whispered to himself. "This is all crazy."

"Fighting giant monsters is pretty crazy," pointed out Pyrrha.

"Don't have to tell me twice," snorted Jaune. "Yeah, I'm still in. Don't really like it but … well, I have a lot to catch up on. I thought just sparring would be enough, but you really need that extra edge, don't you? Knowing you'll get your ass kicked if you screw up."

"It's all part of it," agreed the red-head. "As strong as your aura is, you need some real fighting to temper it. To burn in some reflexes and habits." She tapped her pen on the edge of Jaune's notebook. "Alright then, this weekend we go out and find some trouble," she said, and her emerald eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Uh, Pyrrha?" replied Jaune, eyebrows raised. "You know, you do scare me when you look like that."

Pyrrha laughed, using her hand to muffle the sound. "Oh, Jaune, I wouldn't be in this career if I didn't like to fight. It'll be fun."

* * *

><p>Junior poured himself out another double-shot of spirits from the bottle on his desk in the back office. It wasn't a cheap bottle, but it wasn't a luxury item either; it was what he drank when he wanted to get roaring drunk without feeling like roadkill the next morning. He knocked back half the glass in a single hit and groaned, rubbing his forehead as he laid it back down.<p>

"Fucking hell," he muttered to himself.

Photographs and pages of secrets were strewn across his desk. There was something fishy going on, and he damn well knew it. Junior had been in this business too long to believe in coincidences. Sure, they might happen once in a very long time, but it was very rare. By and large, if you suspected you've been shafted, you probably have been. And Junior was sure he was getting shafted.

He picked up a photo of Melanie Malachite in her Beacon Academy uniform that the new kid had procured during the day. With a wholehearted frown he tried to figure out what had happened that had let the girls escape the blackballing he had set on them. In truth he knew it had been a tremendous mistake; he never should have let himself act in the heat of the moment like he did. He figured that was the hideous danger of being at odds with your own right hand. Hard to listen to good advice when your advisor is the one in your crosshairs.

"Okay, we have you two ladies over here," he said, standing up and pinning them upon the corkboard in his office. They had spent a couple years as his enforcers, gifted combatants with auras well beyond your average citizen. They did their own freelance work outside of his club to supplement their incomes; Melanie providing discreet bodyguard work to the Vale social set, Miltiades doing similar work among the Vale underworld.

"And we have you over here," he continued. Next he picked up a photo of Yang from the desk and pinned it to the board across from the twins. He had never met the girl before or since, though when he had investigated her after the club brawl he had learned she was a real piece of work. The fact he had already looked into her had been withheld from his new enforcer; he didn't want to contaminate her work with shortcuts.

Moving around the board he continued on adding in Ruby, Blake, Alice, Weiss, a White Fang administrator, and lastly, a picture of Roman and Neopolitan. In the centre of the board he placed himself and a picture of his club.

"Huh," he grunted as he looked at the board. "Well, if nothing else, I've already learned there's way too many teenage girls apparently affecting my life," he noted with bemusement.

He tapped a button on a device hanging on to the bottom of the pinboard and a little holographic overlay flashed up over the board. It had been a very expensive purchase, but it really did help him visualise matters. Keeping the photos was a bit of a conceit; Junior was getting a bit older and he liked using something more tactile, even as he dabbled in the new technology.

"Alright, so where'd this all begin," he muttered. He drew a line from the White Fang administrator to himself. "Okay, I was lining up for a big contract. White Fang are always chasing information but have a hard time getting enough human agents in high up places. Serious dough." He drew another line from Yang to the club, then from Roman to the administrator.

"Hey, boss, what're you doing?" intruded a voice in his office.

Junior looked over his shoulder. "Oh, hey kiddo." He waved an arm at the pinboard. "I'm trying to figure this out. There's something about this whole situation that stinks. Really stinks."

"What do you mean?" asked the young brunette agent.

He frowned and drew lines between Neo and Roman, then Neo and the administrator. "Well, look. Yang comes in, fucks us all up, I don't get the White Fang contract. I heard from contacts in the Fang that one of the people who really argued for the contract to go elsewhere was that pink and brown haired girl who told us to look into Ruby, Neopolitan. So instead of me getting the contract, that jackass who hired some of my henchmen, who I never saw again just quietly, Roman Torchwick gets the deal."

"I think I know how Neo got her influence with the administrators," said the chocolatey-hued girl slowly, moving to stand next to him. She pointed to the girl's photo. "I found out when I was looking into Yang that Neo was part of a sympathiser cell as well. They have a habit of asking humans they 'trust' when dealing with other humans."

"Really?" asked Junior with deceptive mildness. "Makes sense. Now, funnily enough, a week later, Roman hired Neo out of that cell to be his assistant."

"What? Hey, did you already know what I was telling you? Seriously," complained the girl with a sharp look.

"A month later, some mover and shaker inside the White Fang picks up Roman and kicks him upstairs, taking Neo with him," carried on Junior. "Don't ask me who, I haven't unknotted that yet. But that meant the contract was up for offer again, except this time it was a lot cheaper. I'm guessing because of the money they already paid Roman."

"So you're saying, Neo and Roman chiseled you out of some money?" asked the girl next to him.

"Some money?" grunted Junior in surprise. "Try twenty million Lien. That was the difference between contracts, and from what I can tell, they pocketed it all. Not counting the five hundred grand cleanup bill."

"Oh, fuck," said the brunette as she put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah," agreed Junior before slamming back the second half of his shotglass. "For me the question has always been who was in on it, and who was a bystander. One of either Neo or Roman orchestrated this."

"Neo knew Yang," suggested the girl hesitantly. "She could have sent Yang your way."

"Could have? I'm almost certain she did," agreed Junior again. "But, and this is what pisses me off, this big coincidence here," he continued before reaching out to the holograph, glowing lines appearing where his finger moved. He drew lines from all of the students down to an empty space below his club, where he wrote, 'Beacon'. "Somehow, someway, they all end up in the same class group. No, that's crap, someone has been playing games."

"You wanted their grades, right?" checked the girl. "Right, well the twins have similar practical grades, both about a step behind Yang or Ruby, but they're holding their own."

"And there it is," sighed Junior. "So they're strong enough to be Beacon students. Yet somehow weak enough to lose two-on-one to a girl who had to fight through a dozen henchmen to reach them. And yet their practical grades are only a little behind the girl that beat them both?"

"What are you thinking?" asked the brunette.

"I'm thinking, kiddo, that Neo got them to take a dive," said Junior.

"They're not flaunting wealth, no diamond and gold accessories all over," pointed out his new agent. "They definitely got hurt, too."

"I think they wanted out, and a place in Beacon was their payoff," explained Junior. "And for aura users, getting hurt isn't that serious. I mean, they were out of hospital in just a day. Not too big a price to pay for a spot in Beacon Academy and a ticket out of the Underworld, you'd say."

"Seems like a big leap, boss," argued the girl skeptically.

"Look," snapped Junior. "That one," said while pointing at Neo, "Sicced that one," pointing at Yang, "Onto me. Now somehow the twins have ended up on the same class as an influential White Fang assassin who left the service just after all this happened, as well as Yang herself. Not to mention there's some serious money that they are associating with. Look, if both girls are honestly good enough to attend Beacon and be in a class with this girl, _how did they both lose to her in a two on one?_ It only makes sense if they took a dive."

"Wait, Yang is really good," pointed out his assistant. "Her style game could do with some work, but I'm told she punches like a hammer. I mean she punched you out, didn't she?"

"So all this," began Junior, "Is all an unhappy coincidence? If you want to live for much longer in this game, kiddo, you need to learn that coincidence is bullshit. Trusting coincidence gets you screwed over at best and killed at worst. No such thing."

The girl looked at him for a long time before rolling her eyes and walking out the door.

Junior sighed and dropped back down to his desk and poured himself another round of whisky. It helped dull the throbbing headache of his frustration so well that he poured himself another. It was around two hours and halfway through the bottle later that he realised he had neglected to stow his scroll before he started drinking. A few buttons later and he was drunk-dialling away like a jilted ex-boyfriend who just had to give that treacherous jerk a proper piece of his mind.

In the end, it was to unquestionably become Junior's greatest ever mistake.

* * *

><p>"Pyrrha!" greeted Melanie with a cheerfulness she forced through the stress.<p>

The Mistral champion looked away from where she was talking with Jaune in the hallway. "Hi there!" she answered brightly. She noticed the blonde girl appear behind Melanie and nodded at her as well, saying, "Hello, Aurea."

"Hi, Pyrrha," echoed Aurea.

It was after dinner and the team were on their way to the dorms. They had eschewed the cafeteria in celebration of their successful, frighteningly so, field assignment. Instead they had gone to the curry house near the main courtyard to eat, at Pyrrha's insistence. It had been Jaune's first time there, but he had handled the heat with aplomb. Nora, however, had not dealt with it nearly so well at the time. Of course, she was capitalising on the red-eyed, runny nosed after effects by chasing Ren around, mortifying the well-kept young man.

"So, like, is everyone okay after the big mission?" asked Melanie pleasantly.

The red-haired girl pursed her lips and and considered her friend carefully. She could spot the anxiety in the girl easily enough. "What's going on, Melanie?" asked Pyrrha with a gentle smile.

"W-Whatever, why would anything be going on?" replied Melanie cagily. She flushed at being immediately seen through.

Pyrrha turned to her teammates. "Why don't you guys go on ahead?"

"Sure thing, Pyrrha," agreed Jaune.

Melanie looked away, eyes narrowed and feeling a confusing mixture of relief and embarrassment at how Pyrrha had taken charge of the situation.

"Let's go for a walk outside, Melanie," suggested Pyrrha.

"Fine, why not?" forced out Melanie through the embarrassment.

For five minutes they made nattering small talk, gossip just to fill the air between them while people were still around. Once they made their way outside where they had some privacy, Pyrrha turned towards her new friend.

"So what's on your mind?" asked the lovely Amazon.

Melanie looked up at the other girl with a strained smile. "I need your help," she explained softly. She looked away and tossed up her hands, words coming out in a jumble. "I mean, I can't live my whole life in the past, and sometimes someone has to be the bigger person, and you know you have to be practical about justice, which kinda sucks but-"

"Melanie," interrupted Pyrrha, steady and strong with a comforting smile.

Melanie dropped her hands and shook her head. "They scare the shit out of me. It's embarrassing, but there it is." She shrugged uncomfortably. "Pyrrha, can you help me try and patch things up with Weiss? My teammates are kind of demanding it."

"Can I?" echoed Pyrrha. "I've been hoping to hear you say that since the first day you joined our class. Yes, I can help you. I think Weiss trusts me." She cocked a head at the former underworld enforcer. "Can you tell me what started all this?"

"I often did bodyguard work for society boys when they felt they needed a little extra protection but didn't want to be conspicuous about it," explained Melanie. "But that meant I had to interact. I couldn't simply hold up a big red flag saying I'm the muscle. Of course, showing up on different arms, eventually I became a topic of gossip, and a target, since I didn't have any friends, patrons, or backing."

"With you so far," said Pyrrha as they walked.

"Weiss divided her time between the society scenes of Atlas, Vale, and I'm told she popped up in Mistral from time to time," continued Melanie. "Seriously, her frequent flier status must be ludicrous. I don't know if you met her there?"

"No, I'm afraid not," denied Pyrrha. "First time I met her was at Beacon."

"Okay, well, because she was a Schnee, she had a lot of status," explained Melanie. "Combine that with being honestly clever and powerful. End result is that Weiss was a tyrant of the society scene in both cities. Possibly _the_ tyrant. And, well, to keep power, you have to demonstrate it. I was a very easy target for her to make a frequent example of." She held up a hand to forestall a protest. "She did, I promise that I'm telling the truth. You've seen Weiss when she gets angry with someone, right?"

"Yes, that's rather less than what you're suggesting, though," refuted Pyrrha.

"That's because she's better now but, before," began Melanie before she drew in a great breath. For a moment she weighed up spilling the beans on the Weiss and her old dependency. But it just didn't seem like the right thing to do yet. She knew it would come out, but Pyrrha needed to hear it from Weiss to truly understand. "Look, society events have such a dark side to them."

"I know, Melanie, I've been there, I know what goes on," reassured Pyrrha. Disappointment radiated through her voice. She had seen the damage that the vices of society boys and girls could cause while being tiresomely feted at Mistral. That this could have been the issue with Weiss never occurred to the young redheaded trainee. It just wasn't in her to assume the worst like that.

"Makes it a pretty volatile place," explained Melanie further. "So take what you know of Weiss when she's angry, add in that toxic environment, and imagine life for people she didn't like. Sometimes it made her happy and easygoing, sometimes it just... " She looked down at her feet and held her arm self-consciously. "Look, I'm not trying to twist your view of Weiss, I just want you to understand why I act like this, and why you don't see what I used to see. I'm not crazy, I'm not petty. That place used to mess her up and truth be told, I'm just one of the people who paid the price. I know I shouldn't hold the grudge, and you know, it all rebounded on her in the end."

"I know, I've seen it in use," sighed Pyrrha. She frowned and shook her head. "I'm glad you've come to me for help, Melanie. Sorry, but do you mind telling me what brought on the change of heart?"

"Because I…," the girl in white began to reply, before she fell away to silence. '_Because I'm tired of losing all the fucking time_,' she thought to herself morosely. "Velvet's been after me for a while to try and make friends with her. Now Miltia and Aurea have joined in."

Pyrrha waited for more, but when nothing was forthcoming, she smiled and shook her head. "Melanie, I think there might be something extra you're not saying," she said cheerfully.

"Because I can't make headway, I can't make a fucking thing count against her!" exploded Melanie, finally losing a final restraint on the frustration within. "Because that fucking princess has it all and I can't impact on a thing, and I try and I fail and I fail and I fail!" Her arms flung out to the side and her voice cracked. "This place isn't just my second chance, it's my last chance. I can't beat her, I can't ignore her. She's Ruby's partner, too. I can't keep fighting Weiss without eventually getting Ruby involved and I am officially scared _shitless_ of Ruby Rose after that last mission."

"Well then!" replied Pyrrha brightly. "Now that I know what I'm dealing with, we can start to build some bridges. Let me go talk to Weiss for you, we'll go out somewhere and talk."

"That's it?" asked Melanie as she wiped at her cheeks. "I tell you I'm a frightened mass fuck-up and you say okay, let's go build some bridges." A bittersweet smile crossed her face. "Pyrrha Nikos, is there no end to your cheerfulness?"

"Not really, sorry," was Pyrrha's earnest reply.

* * *

><p>"I'm not saying ignore him, Melanie," complained Miltia in a sullen frustration. "I'm just saying, sleep on it for the weekend, he isn't going to move yet. I mean he's been waiting for months." She was sitting on her bed, propped up against the headboard, looking down at her scroll. She didn't quite trust herself to look her angry team leader in the eye.<p>

"Would you at least _look_ at me!?" exploded Melanie in frustration as she stood in front of the display in their dorm room, arms wide as she faced her sister with an exasperated look.

Miltia felt like a complete jerk. She knew she had to do this, of course. Her sister, as aggressive and determined as she was, was rather more bark than bite in Miltia's eyes. She wanted to trust her, to bring her into this, but there was simply no way. Timid and shy Miltiades might keep her head bowed, but when she was backed against a wall, she bit deep. In the end, she felt Melanie Malachite would thank her and appreciate what she was going to do. Eventually. For now her eyes glanced up, even as her head stayed bowed.

"Grimm and Dust, Miltiades, I don't even know what to do with you sometimes," lamented Melanie with a pained expression.

"I've already told you what I think," objected Miltiades with a frown. "Don't do anything rash, okay?"

"Why are you so passive about this?" asked Melanie as she sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You know we can't ignore this."

Aurea was out of the dorm room, trying to build some bridges with Jaune's team. Poor Velvet, however, was sitting on her bed with headphones on, studiously ignoring the row between the twins. The rabbit girl didn't know the history that the girls had with their former employer, and they weren't asking for her advice yet, so she didn't really know what to do. It seemed too blatant to just walk out now, she had missed her chance to leave.

"He was freaking out, Melanie, like an idiot," sighed Miltia. "Just see if he's going to calm down." On her scroll, the student was browsing the information network that bound together the city of Vale. The page on her screen, which she was still navigating out of the corner of her eye as she watched her sister, was a hotel booking site, currently listing sites near a particular point in the city.

"Do you think I can't handle this?" asked Melanie as she crossed her arms.

'_Nope, nope, not against Junior, I love you, sis, but you need me here_,' thought Miltia unkindly, yet not untruthfully. But what she said was rather different. "Of course you can handle this, Melanie, but listen to me. Not this weekend. Stick with Pyrrha and patching things up with Weiss. The last thing you want is for this to carry on and eat you up from the inside out, right?" On the screen in front of her she found a cheap, rather spartan motel and selected it. It wasn't much but it served her purpose admirably. At eight hundred Lien a night, booking it for the weekend was comfortably covered by the bounty for the Ursi she had killed. Vaguely she wondered what Ruby's bounty must have been after that mission.

Melanie bit the inside of her cheek as she thought that over. "It's not taking me over," she said quietly. "Grudges aren't healthy to keep, I know but..." The dark-haired girl looked a little lost for a moment.

"Plus, Weiss would be a pretty handy ally if Junior doesn't calm down," added Miltia helpfully.

Melanie looked at her feet and shook her head. After a moment she went and dropped down on her own bed. "Yeah, okay, I see your point. He'll be very slow to move, so we should build up." She looked over at her sister. "Thanks, Miltia."

"Whatever, sis," she answered with a disarming smile as she paid for the twin share motel room.

But then, feeling like a total fraud, she opened up her messenger client.

"[Miltiades Malachite] : _Ruby, I need you to come meet me in the city tomorrow. Not kidding, this is super important, no tricks. Take an overnight bag and your weapon. I'll let you know where to meet. By the way, you're starting to become a bad influence on me._"

Shortly thereafter, she received a reply. "[Ruby Rose] : _Uh … what?_"

* * *

><p>"Oh, hey, Pyrrha," greeted Weiss as she stifled a yawn. She had already changed into her nightgown and was preparing for bed.<p>

Pyrrha gave her the same smile she used for the covers of breakfast cereals. "Hi Weiss, hi Ruby," she replied, getting a cheerful wave from Ruby. "Got a moment?"

"Sure," answered Weiss, cocking her head.

"Would you like to come out with me and Melanie this weekend?" she asked.

Weiss did a double take at the mention of the Malachite girl. "Does Melanie know you're inviting me?"

"Yeah," confirmed Pyrrha slowly. "That's actually kinda the point, really. I want to try and get you two to patch things up."

"I don't think-" began Weiss anxiously.

"Pyrrha, that's a brilliant idea," exclaimed Ruby. She joined them at speed, all but jumping over the top of Weiss, whose composure vanished under the sudden impact. Pyrrha looked on in a state that was some fifty percent horror, the rest hilarity.

"Ruby!? You dolt, get off!" protested Weiss as her team leader leaned over her shoulder. She tried to shake the girl off, but the delighted Huntress stuck to her like glue. When she finally got her partner to ease off, the ivory haired girl dusted off and huffed. "I'm busy with company stuff this weekend, so that doesn't-"

"Take her to that after-party you mentioned," suggested Ruby in a rush.

Weiss shot around to fix Ruby with a confused look, wondering whose side the girl was on. But the look in her team leader's eyes told her she was altogether serious. The ivory-haired heiress blinked, taken aback.

"Pyrrha," said Ruby, "Could you please give us a moment?"

"Of course," replied the other girl as she stepped outside.

Weiss' jaw dropped as she was left in the room with her betimes frightening team leader. Together the two partners exchanged a long look, a contest of will passing between them. The same strength that Ruby accessed to stand up to Yang she now brought to bear upon the recovering society girl before her.

"Ruby, what are you-?" attempted Weiss, before Ruby cut her off.

"You said you wanted to help me be the best leader I can be?" asked Ruby.

"Yes, but what does that-?"

"Then bury the hatchet with my fellow team leader," stated Ruby firmly. "Look," she said, holding up hands to forestall her friend. "I know, you don't have a problem, it's all her, blah-blah, you still need to do this."

"Why?" asked Weiss simply.

"Because," replied Ruby, "I need to be able to work with her, it's so much harder for our teams to work together while this stuff goes on. And because when she isn't your enemy, she won't be digging up dirty secrets on us." The dark-haired girl lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper as she added, "Because we both know there are skeletons hidden that would be really, really ugly if they came up."

Weiss was silent for a long time, just looking at her partner levelly. "Oh, god, this is how Yang feels when you stomp all over her, isn't it?"

"I don't stomp all over my sister! Weiss!" protested Ruby.

But Weiss just smiled and went to the door, letting Pyrrha back in. "Okay, there's an after-party to the company event for the society scene that I mean to go to. Me and Alice can get you in, we'll talk there."

"Is that wise?" asked Pyrrha in concern. "Most of what went wrong between you two seemed to happen within the gala set?"

"Where better to settle grievances than at the beginning?" asked Weiss. "I want to show her I'm better, that I've changed."

"Changed since what?" asked Pyrrha coyly.

"And you know what?" replied Weiss, ignoring the leading question. "It might do her well to be seen there with a society girl for company. You think she didn't bring half of it on herself by only associating with the boys and completely ignoring the rest of us? That's spitting in our eye, thank you very much, and you do that at your own peril." She shrugged. "I was queen of the society girls, of course I was going to be involved."

"You really enforce gender roles like that?" asked Pyrrha with a surprised recoil. "Is that still a thing in your circles?"

"It's not a gender role, it's common courtesy," protested Weiss. "There are two power blocs in any society scene, be it in Vale, Mistral or Atlas. Those who self-identify as girls, and as boys. You have to at least pay your respects or it will be taken as an insult. Look, we weren't to have known she really was a stranger to our ways. There are conventions you abide by, and she didn't. Eventually we were going to force her into line, or force her out."

Pyrrha gave Weiss a carefully measured look. "That's a very cold way, Weiss."

"We're the high society," said Weiss, a regal mask spreading across her expressions. "People want in much more than we really want them there. To be in our ranks is a privilege, not a right. One that people lose and have to re-earn all the time." Weiss abruptly reared back and blinked. After a moment she couldn't meet Pyrrha's eyes. "Maybe I'm not entirely changed," she half-confessed, "But I can still mend fences. And while she may not want anything to do with the society anymore, I can at least normalise her status there."

* * *

><p>Ruby sighed and sat down on a stone bench, scythe propped up against her shoulder. She popped the top on her water bottle and drank greedily. It was a hard grind that she put herself through and fluids always needed to be replenished. In many ways, she went harder and further than the loads sparring for Grimm combat placed on her. Drills as bloodless combat, combat as bloody drills, was a concept known to warriors since time immemorial. Well, Ruby couldn't pretend that her sparring was always bloodless, but her drills certainly had some of that relentless physical demand.<p>

As she drank, she heard footsteps drawing near. When she looked up, she smiled. Her sister had come, right on time, and they called out an exchange of pleasantries. "Alright, sis, what did you want to talk about?" she asked as she folded up her weapon and propped it up between her knees.

"So, Alice," mused Yang as she moved out of the shadows to sit next to Ruby. As she sat down, Ruby turned to look out out over the fields that lay beyond the campus. "Blonde. Pretty. Seems to know how to fight and she's smart. Interested?"

"There's nothing there, Yang," objected Ruby, not turning away from the distant fields. "No, seriously," she emphasised when Yang made a loud 'hmm'.

"So a one morning stand?" asked the concerned older sister.

"Ha," said Ruby. She sighed and turned to give her sister a stern look. The younger girl folded her arms, trying her hardest to present an serious front. "Yang," she said tetchily, "There were people who came over, while dad wasn't there, that I never saw before or saw after. Don't try to tell me you didn't have casual flings. You totally did." She pointed at her sister and firmly said, "And it started when you were my age, so if you start telling me I'm too this, or I'm too that, then I'm just going to walk away. And I'll put you on breakfast run duty for like a month, sis!"

Yang looked at her sister in first surprise and then chagrin. "When did you get so…"

"Feisty?" suggested Ruby brightly.

"Mouthy," completed Yang, before sighing. "Look, sis, I'm not judging you. I'm not sitting here trying to say, 'You've been a bad girl, Ruby'. I just want to know that you're ready, that you're aware of what you're doing." She rubbed at the back of her head and coloured brightly. "And maybe help you avoid some of mistakes I already stepped in."

"Well…," said Ruby, relaxing her stance a little. "Just try not to sound like Dad while you do it, okay?"

Yang snorted and relaxed a little. "Fine, alright. But one 'Dad' question first, and don't make that face at me Rubes!" she protested.

"Yang, please don't ask what I think you're about to," sighed Ruby.

"V-card, still have it?" asked the older sibling sternly, crossing her arms and fixing Ruby with a sharp look.

"I didn't go all the way with Alice!" protested the dark-haired girl, putting her hands up in exasperation, before beginning to gesture wildly. "Petting session, I told you already! We kissed. A lot. A real lot. It was a lot of kissing, seriously, and we may have gotten handsy and stuff got unbuttoned but-" Yang held up her hands with a freaked out expression on her face, wanting to put an end to the details as her eyes flickered between lilac and red. Ruby stopped and scratched the back of her head. "Heh, sorry, getting away from myself there. But yeah, we didn't go all the way."

For a brief moment, Yang accepted that. But then she thought it through once more and her face lit up. "Hey, wait! You're answering a question I didn't ask, _again_!"

Ruby blanched and leaned back. "Aheh, you know, I liked it a lot better when you didn't notice that sort of thing," she pointed out a little wryly.

"_Still_ not answering," complained Yang, folding her arms under her chest.

The younger girl drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, forcing herself to settle down. "Grrr, no, and if you tell dad I'll put salt in your coffee until graduation," she confessed irritably. Her silver eyes flashed in the gloom as she stared Yang down. "You better have something major to share with me," she warned.

"Blake is my girlfriend," said Yang casually, stretching artfully.

"Ehhh!?" blurted out Ruby, turning towards her sister as her jaw dropped. "Seriously!?"

Yang grinned at her, reclining back on her hands and crossing her legs jauntily. "Yep," she confirmed as cockily as could be.

"I'm so happy for you two," cheered Ruby. "That sounds awesome." Yang winked at her smugly, radiating cheer. "When did this happen?" asked Ruby with her eyes wide and wonderous.

Yang smiled and took Ruby through the story of asking Blake out, leaving out as many embarrassing or incriminating details as she dared. Her little sister was smiling giddily as the tale unfurled for her.

Ruby's smile froze for just a moment, and she shrugged with one shoulder. "Just think, if I find someone, maybe we could have double dates?"

"Oh, you don't want that," laughed Yang. "Having to put up with Blake totally hanging off of me?" She shook her head. "You'd be too embarrassed to function." She looked at her sister thoughtfully. "So do you have anyone you really like?" asked Yang in a carefully airy voice.

Ruby's instincts instantly went to deflect. "Pfft, nah, I don't…," she trailed off and narrowed her eyes, actually feeling a little irritated with herself that she immediately went for the lie. "I … oh wow, I do _not_ want to say this. But I will," she said, forestalling Yang's amused reaction.

"Is it Weiss?" asked Yang. Ruby turned and looked at her with a dumbstruck expression. "Hehe, sisterly intuition is right on the mark, I see."

The younger girl rolled her eyes with feeling. "Yang," she whined, drawing out the name. "Yeah, I like Weiss. I wish so bad she wasn't straight, but that's life, I guess."

"Yeah, I suppose so," said Yang, her smile fading off her face. "I dunno though, there's something strange about Weiss."

"How so?" asked Ruby, a little confused scrunch on her brow.

Yang turned and looked at Ruby with a lopsided smile. "Well, I know why I get protective when I see someone flirt with you. But Weiss freaks out too. Like super-jealous freak outs, kind of like well, let's see, oh yeah! That waitress in the cafe with the spiced hot chocolates and-oh god, I just realised we totally stamped on your attempts to flirt back. Oops." As the cogs turned in her head, her hands gestured wildly and her expression changed repeatedly, something her younger sister had always found entertaining.

"I think I know what you mean," said Ruby slowly and uncertainly. "I don't really know what to think when she does it. Like when she realised I had been making out with Alice," she said, turning and throwing her hands up like claws and trying to imitate Weiss' voice. "Rawr! Don't sleep with that horrible meanie! She'll eat your brain and turn you into a delinquent!"

The older girl laughed and put an arm around her sister. "Hey, you do her voice pretty well. I … don't think you've quite got the words down, but you have the voice."

"I don't know why she freaks out like that," admitted Ruby with a small, resigned shrug. "I mean, I know what it _could_ mean, and I really hope it does. But I don't know. She'll tell anyone who asks that she's straight. But that's for Weiss to figure out."

"So you're still looking then?" asked Yang.

"Yeah," said Ruby. "I tried to do the celibate thing and it just made me stressed until I finally just exploded in a big stress ball and hauled Miltia off a rooftop. As if I needed to make her team think I was any crazier."

"Why is it always Miltia you have these fights with?" asked Yang. "You never go nose to nose with Melanie, or the others, or with me or anyone else. But you and Miltia will just get right up in each other's personal space and yell at each oh god," said Yang with an abrupt change of tack at the end. "Oh god," she repeated, "Are you…?"

Ruby just sat there and looked at Yang. A smile spread across her face. "Am I what?"

"Are you chasing Miltia?" asked Yang, girding herself for the answer. "Which would be such a bad mistake I don't even know what to tell you."

"I've known a mistake or two, Yang," dismissed Ruby with a small laugh. "As badly as they end, they are a lot of fun to make."

"That's not the...," began Yang before she trailed off. A big, goofy, guilty grin plastered itself over her face. "Oh, who am I kidding. I know what you mean. Just try not to be a wrecking ball about it."

"Yang Xiao-Long, did you just give me your approval to chase after Miltiades?" asked Ruby with her hands on her hips and a bewildered look in her eyes.

"Wait, you're not trying to break up her and Alice, right?" checked Yang.

"Not intentionally, I think they're cute together," denied Ruby. She coughed into her hand and added under her breath, "Just want to borrow her."

"Then go for it," said Yang with a grin that bottled up just a little sadness. "They're open, you're single, have fun while you can."

"Weiss would be so mad if she heard you say that," giggled Ruby.

"Ruby … I know I'm just a hopeless thrill seeker," began Yang slowly. "I know what makes me do this sort of thing. But you're your own girl. Kinda too much so!" she added with a little laugh. "You're not like me. So why are you constantly chasing and changing? The word is your little black book may be longer than mine, and I've got a two years headstart on you." She placed her hand on Ruby's carefully, upon the stone bench. "And it's not just dating. You are so outrageously fearless in battle. You're reckless. Reckless enough to scare me."

A sombreness came over the younger girl. For a moment she seemed to slip inside a shell, but the leader shook it off after a moment. "I think you know why I turned out like this, Yang," answered Ruby quietly after several seconds. Her gaze was hundreds of miles away and a decade distant. She felt an arm reach around her shoulders and pull her in tight. "_Yang_," whined Ruby, though she did nothing to pull away. "I'm just trying to enjoy life while I have it."

Yang shuddered and squeezed the girl. "Don't talk like that!" she admonished. "Although I approve of the enjoying life part. We're all going to live a long time and have a lot of fun and it's going to be great."

"Not even you believe that," rebutted Ruby, the ghost of a smile fighting to break free. "And you're the biggest optimist on the team. Although, I sometimes worried you wouldn't live long enough to reach Beacon with the people you used to hang out with."

"Right, about that, Ruby," said Yang anxiously. She brought her hands back to her lap and breathed deeply. '_Okay, tell her, you have to tell her. She's your team leader, sister, and friend_,' she exhorted herself. '_If Blake knows, Ruby needs to know, and you need to get this secret off your chest._' Her confidence trembled.

"Eh?" vocalised Ruby, looking up at her big sister.

"N-nothing, Ruby, I'm glad we could talk," sighed Yang as she looked down. She could feel Ruby's gaze on her, cutting through the polite retraction.

Ruby sighed as she realised Yang wasn't going ahead with her confession. She thought about pressing her sister on the topic but knew it was futile. It was also getting very late, and Ruby wanted to go get some sleep, so she stood up and stretched. "Yeah. I'm glad to hear about you and Blake. Just remember we all share the dorm, okay?"

"Yes, Dad," drawled Yang teasingly, getting a sharp look.

"Go on ahead, I just need to finish my last set of drills," said Ruby. "Fifteen minutes."

"Sure," said Yang. She gave Ruby a gentle look, and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Actually, are you sure? You're still recovering from all that exertion, I don't want you to overdo it."

"Nah, I'm taking it lightly today," reassured Ruby with a wave. "Honest, I'm just doing stance and transition drills."

Yang left for the dorm after that, and Ruby finished rehydrating and hefted her weapon again. She walked away from the bench to give herself space to work, and settled into her stance. Feet apart, left foot forward, right back; right hand high-middle, left low-middle, split for leverage. Scythe tilted across and back, blade hanging, ready to whip with the tail or attack with the head. Swiftly she transitioned her stance, rocking her weight onto her back foot and extending her front foot; first her left hand shifting up, and then her right hand sliding all the way until it was just under the head assembly. The blade rotated so it was hidden behind her body.

"That's your defensive stance?" asked a voice out of the darkness.

Ruby's eyes went wide and she nearly stumbled before she composed herself. She turned and looked back towards the school. Soon a figure in a slate-grey hoodie and green skirt emerged from the gloom. Her hair was dark and a black feather-pin was worked into her hair.

"Don't scare me like that, Miltia," admonished Ruby returning her focus to her drill. "And it's one of them; Gentle Thorn, in this case, since the blade is tucked in to help balance the tail-spike properly, but it makes counter-attacking harder." She shifted her weight forward slightly, slipping her left hand down the shaft slightly, lowering the spike and raising the head, turning the back at a forty-five degree away from her head. "This is a bit more balanced for going one-on-one."

"So complicated," noted Miltia dryly. "I just like to scratch at people, much simpler."

"Liar," said Ruby conversationally, flashing her a smile. "So, are you on the level?"

"With what?" asked Miltia.

"You know, that meeting in the city thing," clarified Ruby. "I know, details when we're there and not being watched. Fine by me. I just want to know if it's a trap."

"If it was, would I tell you?" asked Miltia.

"You're a bad liar," pointed out Ruby.

"Unlike you?" retorted the former enforcer. "The masterful, two-faced liar?" Ruby shrugged back at her, drawing a sigh from Miltia's lips. "It's not a trap."

"What about a crazy ploy to get me into bed with you?" asked Ruby with a laugh.

"Fuck you," replied Miltia calmly.

"Well, yeah, either that or a petting session, I guess," said the younger girl, making the other girl's eyes go wide.

"No, it's not about getting you into bed," sighed Miltia.

"Good, because I'd hate to hear you play tricks with me after hearing you chew out Alice for not being upfront," laughed the team leader.

"I need help, Ruby," professed Miltia honestly. "You're the only person I know who can do this sort of thing. The know-how and, like, mentality." A look as cold as ice swept the younger girl's features. Miltiades steadied her nerves and continued. "Something from my past has come back to be a problem. I need help to get out this. I hope you can sympathise."

Ruby looked at her for a long time, then pulled up her weapon and returned it to carry-form. "Yeah, I know what that's like. I'll help you."

"See you tomorrow, Ruby," said Miltia as she walked back into the nighttime gloom.

* * *

><p>Cinder strode into the room with all of her spicy airs and promises, as beautiful as a bonfire. In her arms was a package of dark clothing. "Here, try this on," she ordered with a smooth and luxuriant voice.<p>

Neo looked up and blinked in shock. Sitting in the little combination office, workshop and relaxation room she had claimed at the warehouse, after a good day working cover for her boss as he merrily separated ever more of Vale from their Dust supplies, the pint-sized villain had expected some peace and quiet. The arrival of her boss' extremely sultry boss had not been on the cards.

Cinder placed the garments upon Neo's desk. The talented henchgirl picked up the item on top and unfurled it, finding a black blazer with gold trim. Her eyes flicked over suspiciously to Cinder, whose smile deepened sinfully. The multi-hued girl bit her lip; that smile felt like it was backlit by hellfire.

"What ... Cinder, is this fetish wear?" she asked, eyebrows screwed up. "Is this a hidden side of you that I'm seeing?"

Cinder laughed with heat and suggestion, a sound pregnant with wicked intent. "I promise you, this is no uniform fetish, the clothes are quite authentic," she explained, placing one hand on her hip, cocking it towards the girl.

"We're going to Mistral?" asked Neo hesitantly as she recognised the rest of the garments, leafing through them slowly.

Cinder's smile seemed to stretch from ear to ear as she placed a further box of blonde hair dye and blue contact lenses on the desk. "On the contrary, my dear, Mistral is coming here."

Heartbeats passed silently as Neo glanced between the items, and then up at Cinder. "Are you _sure_ this isn't a roleplay fetish?"

**A/N: Thanks for reading through, please remember to review, fave, and follow if you enjoyed!**


	12. A Deep Breath

**A/N: Okay, another chapter up, and massive thanks to everyone for the glut of constructive criticism I got on here and elsewhere after the last chapter. I have endeavoured to take as much of it on board as I could. So thanks to everyone out there who contributed. **

**Massive thanks to my friendly proof-readers (my dear wife, Ace, SLtheThird and Leviticus Wilkes) for your help.**

**This chapter was actually the first half of the originally intended chapter. However, it someone ballooned on me, so I chopped off the latter 10k words, which will form the corner stone of the next chapter. So sorry this one took so long, but good news, the next chapter is already halfway done. On the plus side, I think it worked out better this way. **

**Finally, I'd like to thank all you readers out there, I passed some big milestones after Ch 11 came out (20k views and the 100 fave mark) and I'm tremendously grateful to you all. Thanks for sticking with this story. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please read and review.**

"She's packing again," muttered the heiress to her blonde comrade.

Yang and Blake both turned to face her as she spoke. Weiss didn't look back directly, instead masking her muttering with noisy rustling as she picked out pieces for her outfit. The big Schnee Dust Company presentation in the city was today and the Company expected the right impression.

"What?" asked Blake, exchanging a glance with her partner.

"Ruby, she's packing again," repeated Weiss with a grimace and a memory.

Yang snickered and rolled her eyes. "Weiss, you get more jealous about who Ruby is around than any girlfriend or boyfriend I've ever had," she pointed out. "We're starting to wonder about you."

"Shouldn't you be concerned about her as well?" countered Weiss. "Being her big sister and all?"

Yang chuckled and leaned forward so that Weiss was looking straight into shadowy lilac eyes. "How many times has Ruby shut me down when I've tried to interfere so far?" she asked rhetorically. "It was going to sink in eventually."

"Come on, Weiss, is this really all platonic concern?" asked Blake with a lopsided, wry grin.

The Schnee girl frowned at Blake and shook her head. "Excuse me, Miss Belladonna. I know what you're trying to say, but don't read into it. I care for my friend. I don't want to see her hurt. Now _some _girls may not have shown the cruel intentions towards her that I feared, but that doesn't make it healthy."

"But she wants to chance it," replied Yang. "Miltia, the thing with Alice. Sure she may get hurt, but she knows that. No risk, no reward."

Weiss looked at the blonde girl in a state of horrified wonder. "When did you get so prosaic about this?"

"Me and Ruby talked last night," explained Yang, looking past her friend to her oblivious sister beyond. "Ruby's young and she wants to have fun. She pushes herself super-hard, harder than any of us. So I'm not going to stand in her way." She held up her hands and grimaced, before admitting, "It's not like this is awesome stuff I wanna think about. It so isn't. But we're sisters and she's just like I am. Was," she corrected swiftly, making an involuntary glance at Blake who snorted in response.

Weiss caught the look and her eyes went wide as saucers, glancing between the two teammates whose odd behaviour she had been trying to decipher for the past few days. The surprise soon gave way to an expression sly, conspiratorial, and entirely society girl.

"Well then," said the heiress in a voice all but a low purr. "I see you two have been keeping secrets from me. Romance in the dorm rooms, hmm?" Inwardly she was cackling. '_So you thought you could hide from the great master sleuth, Weiss Schnee? I've had far sneakier sneaks than you fail to keep me in the dark. This was doomed from the start!_'

"Go finish preparing, princess, you don't want to be late for your carriage," said Blake, heading the girl off. A little smile cracked her lips.

"Fortune favours you today, Blake Belladonna, but the cat is out of the bag!" warned Weiss, getting the satisfaction of seeing alarm on her face. Knowing she was running a bit short of time she had to turn back to worry about getting her ensemble straight again. But when she was halfway across the room she noticed Ruby stuffing a slate grey case with an offset white label into her backpack.

"Why are you packing your backup blade?" asked Weiss as she picked up two sets of earrings she was trying to decide between.

Ruby looked up from her work as her teammate addressed her. A pang of guilt crossed her face, the barest ghost of a thing that anyone else would have missed entirely. But Weiss noticed, though she didn't know what to make of it. A glance at Yang told her she spotted it too. "Oh, yeah, I'm a bit anxious after all the impacts and wear I've put on the main one. So I want a second blade on hand either way."

"Okay," said Weiss, feeling uneasy but not sure why.

With the case firmly slotted into her backpack, Ruby took up the bag and exhaled. "Alright, I'll see you guys later. You can reach me by scroll, but use text messages, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," said Yang, giving her an odd look. "Come on, Rubes, if you want to go out and practice, you really should be taking at least one of us."

Their team leader grinned and waved off the concern. "Solo grinding is normal for me, I'll be fine," she explained with a shrug. "I always came home under my own steam, right?"

Weiss blanched at the thought. Is that what she was doing? It was worse than she had feared! Within high society, you never went dancing on your own like that. Of course, she had to admit that going out to fight faunus terrorists who thought her class of people formed the cornerstone of their oppression was rather a different beast to her understanding of what combat school kids got up to. She hesitated for a moment but soon put down the earrings, walked over to Ruby, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Ruby Rose, I do not think you're being a responsible team leader here," she said in a perfectly enunciated rebuke. "Just because you'd be really hard for me to beat in a duel," she continued, ignoring the scoffing of her teammates behind her, "Doesn't mean you should be taking serious risks without someone with you."

Ruby heaved an enormous sigh and looked irritably at Weiss. Abruptly it clicked in the older girl's head. "You're not going to be doing solo work at all, are you?" she asked numbly, getting an embarrassed headshake. "I hate being right all the time," she said with a sigh. "Fine. Remember my number when something goes wrong. And don't lie to me again, Ruby, I won't stand for it."

The girl ducked her head under Weiss' rebuke. "Sorry," she said, shifting awkwardly. "I just didn't want you to worry."

"Don't think you'll get away that easy, Rubes," said Yang. She walked up to Ruby with her arms folded. "At least one of us needs to know where you're going to be and who you're going to be with."

Ruby frowned back at them. "This is personal, sis," she said.

"This is about being a good friend and team leader, sis," scoffed Yang. "Tell you what, you can pick who you tell, but one of us has to know where you'll be."

Ruby glared white-hot at her sister, staying silent for several seconds as they faced off. "Okay," she said quietly. Weiss huffed irritably as she watched Ruby walk past them both towards Blake, whose eyebrows shot up. She put a hand to Blake's ear and stealthily whispered her message. As Ruby stepped away, Blake's gaze flicked towards Weiss, a speculative look in her eyes.

"Very mature, Ruby," drawled Yang.

But rather than respond, Ruby just rolled her eyes at both Weiss and Yang as she walked past. The young girl picked up her bag and left the room without further comment, Crescent Rose riding low, below her backpack.

"God, what's eating her today, why the song and dance?" muttered Yang under her breath, barely audible to Weiss. She cleared her throat and spoke up, "So, Blakey, what did our fearless leader tell you?"

But Blake just had an enigmatic smile for them. "Ruby told me and not you for a reason," she replied. "I think I should respect that."

"What? Blake, that's ridiculous!" exclaimed Weiss. "Don't hold out on us, Ruby's already gone."

To Weiss' supreme frustration, it seemed her quiet comrade was not interested in answering her questions. Rather, she had her own topics to play with. "Interesting that Ruby herself has picked up on your jealousy," said Blake.

'_Sure, you won't divulge what she told you, but you'll still find a way to use it against me? Oh, this is intolerable!_' though Weiss, glaring at Blake. "Exactly what do you think you're talking about?" she said.

"I think you know," said Blake dryly. "It's pretty clear she knows what topics to tread lightly about around you. I mean, why do you think she lied about going solo?"

'_She heard that?_' thought Weiss, blinking in surprise. '_Blake has good ears..._'

"Don't say anything," said Yang softly, cutting off Weiss' retort. A gentle, motherly look was on her face in place of her normal playfulness. "Just promise us that you'll take some time to consider what Ruby is to you," she said.

Weiss bit her lip and sat down on the edge of her bed in silence. For a minute she was left in startled disarray. But duty shook her free of it and she got up to continue preparing for her event. "Ugh! The presumption of those two!" she muttered. '_Ruby is trying to dodge my attempts to help protect her and that's some sign that I'm after her? The nerve! How is that even supposed to work? I just want to help her. I don't want to keep her … I mean..._' She shook the thoughts from her head and carried on with her work.

When she was nearly finished, she went to the closet she shared with Ruby to pick out shoes. She was straightening up with a pair of ivory-hued wedges in hand, when a similar grey case caught her eye, this time with a blue and gold label.

"Wait a minute," said Weiss in a puzzled tone as she took a closer look at the label. "_This_ is her backup blade. The one she took with her was a different set that she picked up at the same time we paid for her backup together."

"A second backup blade?" asked Yang, cocking her head and throwing Weiss a quizzical look.

"Seems a little excessive, even for Ruby," observed Blake.

"How could I know?" replied Weiss, a little defensive in her confusion. "She simply picked up a second case at the same time. It had been paid for in advance." She blinked. "Why would one be on account, the other cash in advance?"

"You didn't ask what it was?" asked Blake.

"I was just happy to be buying her something important," admitted Weiss as her shoulders hunched in slightly. "I didn't really pay attention. I wonder what it was. Some kind of practice blade, maybe?"

"I guess so...," answered Yang.

"Maybe I'll ask Alice about it, weapons are her family's thing," said Weiss as she returned to her task.

As a result, Weiss missed the grave look on Blake's face as she turned away, harbouring her own concerned thoughts about what may have been sitting innocuously in their room for the past two weeks.

* * *

><p>Junior groggily came to consciousness in his office. He found himself at his desk, drool staining the wood, with an empty bottle of spirits at hand and a cracked shotglass. Blearily, and through an impressive hangover, he sat up and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. His scroll was near at hand. He was surprised to find it was almost out of juice.<p>

"Didn't I charge this damn thing yesterday?" he grumbled to himself. "Piece of crap scroll."

He unlocked the screen and quickly went to check for any messages. Abruptly he stopped, glanced at the scroll, the charge and then the empty bottle on the table. With a quick couple of taps, he made his way to the 'Recent Calls' list and found exactly the name he was hoping wasn't there.

"Oh, fuck, knew I should have locked the fucking scroll away when I started drinking…," he groaned. "I wonder what I said," he added in a mumble, wincing when he saw the call went for ten minutes. It only took a moment to do something monumentally stupid during a drunken phone call, and ten minutes provided a lot of moments.

'_I guess there isn't really a subtle way of asking someone if you threatened to kill them during a drunk dial..._'

* * *

><p>"I still don't understand why I'm the one who Father wanted to give this unveiling speech," complained Weiss as she reviewed her notes. "I had almost nothing to do with the Two-Ninety Project."<p>

"Because," grumbled the SDC's irritable chief executive officer, who had traveled from Atlas for the event, "Your father wants to show that even though you are going through with this damn-fool Huntress business, you are still a member of the Schnee Dust Company. Plus it's a good visual to have a Beacon student presenting here in Vale." He threw in a quick shrug. "And the project lead wanted to do the keynote instead."

Weiss pressed her lips thinly and said nothing. She could hardly argue when the directive had come down from her own father. It was a lot of added pressure though. If he gave her this task, then he would be watching from afar. Yet again she must be perfect.

"It isn't like you even had to write the speech. I don't know why you're complaining," added the CEO.

"I'm not complaining," snapped Weiss sharply. She let out a long, shuddering sigh to relieve the frustration. "So how many of these things do we have in Vale?"

"Eight, in a well-guarded warehouse near the harbour," answered the older man. "They'll be joined by six more when General Ironwood arrives tomorrow to make it a full company."

"He'll be here tomorrow?" repeated Weiss in surprise. She got a nod in reply. "The Vytal Festival is arriving sooner than I thought," mused Weiss. '_I'm losing track of time with the busy school year._'

Weiss had a moment of peace as she watched the Master of Ceremonies for the event begin to introduce her to the crowd. With a last-second bit of encouragement from the CEO, she walked out onto the stage, towards the lectern and the enormous block of curtains. A round of applause swept the room as she came into view. She had a lot of experience being all alone in the centre of attention, between company events and contributing her prodigious voice to charity concerts in Atlas. The applause tailed off and finally fell to silence a couple seconds after she arrived at the lectern.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Four Kingdoms; Honoured Councilmen of Vale; esteemed Hunters...," she began, proceeding to go through nearly a dozen different categories of dignitaries in a crystal clear voice. "It is my privilege to welcome you to the part of our presentation that we have all been waiting for."

She was reading confidently off of a holographic prompter, bolstered by her own familiarity with the script her father's writers had crafted for her. It was all old hat, but she knew she had to focus. "This is a project that has been eight years in the making, to which the Schnee Consortium, with our principal partners Victoria Park Heavy Industries, Princes House, Alberton House, and Kardinia Automation, in concert with the Council of Atlas, has committed over seventy billion Lien and the brightest minds of our generation. Together we have revolutionised the way our warriors will take to the field, how they will face threats from any hostile force."

"Our hope is to empower you, our brothers and sisters in Vale, with the greatest shield available, at the least risk possible. Together we will redefine how our great peoples defend their homelands, and protect all of Remnant! From threats without and," she said, pausing to lean forward and raise a finger, "From within."

Weiss spread an arm towards the curtains in a grand gesture. "Allow me to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin, Model 290. The next generation heavy battle mech!"

The heavy curtains were released to fall in a liquid ripple. A sharp intake of breath from the crowd was immediately drowned out in a wave of mechanical noise as a robotic marvel rose from its compressed posture. A dozen tons of master-craftsmanship rose to its full height, towering over petite Weiss Schnee. Arm mounted weapons swiveled to the flanks of the grand conference room while ghostly laser-sights flicked to and fro among the assembled.

It stood like a creature of legend, a metal ogre without restraint or pity. In a room full of people whose lives revolved around weaponry, and around the artifices and contemplation of war, it was a spiritual moment. Might radiated from every carefully angled armour plate, every missile port, gun barrel and targeting laser.

One of the arms swept low and Weiss used an Aura-fuelled leap to land safely upon it. The arm nimbly brought her up to shoulder height on the engine of war and she made the next leap onto its shoulder. With a satisfied smile, Weiss listened to the astounded chatter from the tables. She knew it wasn't for her leap, of course.

"Weapons and armour are the fundamentals of a heavy battle mech, and you will find plenty of both here," continued Weiss with an imperious voice, "But the Paladin offers a third asset: mobility you will not find outside of a light scout mech! And all," began Weiss before pausing for a dazzling smile as she walked across the shoulders of the mecha, "For a unit price under one-hundred and fifty million Lien."

'_Excluding spares, set-up, servicing, calibration, pilot retraining, munitions, and a few other costs,_' she admitted inside her head. Ignorant of her internal monologue, the audience roared its applause, standing to their feet. Weiss glanced across at the CEO, who gave her a thumbs up from the side stage. '_Alright, father, even you have to be happy with that._'

* * *

><p>Miltiades walked along the upper deck of the quiet motel, counting down the room numbers to '207'. There was a keycard in her right hand, the strap of a backpack in her left, and her claws hung from the belt loops of her jeans. Her clothes were as inconspicuous as she could manage; baggy jeans and a dark jade green hoodie, hair pinned up with a pair of clips.<p>

There was as yet no sign of Ruby, but she was confident the girl would be along sooner or later.

'_Here we go_,' thought Miltiades to herself as she reached the door. She dropped her bag by the frame of her assigned room and, despite fumbling the keycard, got the door open. Propping the door open with her foot as she stooped to pick up her bag, she saw a flash of red from the opposite wing of the motel.

"_Fu-!_" was all she could get out before a rose-petalled meteor struck her squarely in the chest and hammered her and her bag into the room. Her vision swam.

The heavy door slid shut behind them with a 'snick'.

"What…?" she groaned, shaking off the grogginess of the impact. "Ohmigod, you fucking vixen, like, get off me," she complained in a daze. '_Great, it's like the rooftop all over again,_' she thought as she recognised what had hit her.

Ruby had her pinned to the floor of the motel room, straddling her just below the waist to kill off any attempt at generating power through the trunk. A forearm rested across Miltia's collar, such that it clearly menaced her throat, yet offered the olive branch in that it was holding off for now. Miltia swallowed visibly as she looked up and beheld the girl who had caught her in ambush, finding herself staring into eyes that burned with intensity.

"Tell me what's going on," whispered Ruby, looming terrifyingly over her.

"Easy, Ruby, easy," hissed Miltia as she shifted unsuccessfully. "Oh, god, you so didn't need to do that…"

"No, no 'easy, Ruby', tell me what is going on!" insisted the young team leader, almost bouncing with agitation. "You've dragged me out here, I had to sacrifice a party with Weiss that I really wanted to go to, pack an overnight bag and it's all weird and strange. I want to know what's going on, Miltiades," she said in a final flurry, her lips forming the older girl's full name with relish.

Miltiades was silent as a shiver raced up her spine. The heat coming off of Ruby was intense, and it was impossible not to be aware of it seeping through her hoodie. One of her hands had slipped down to the girl's leg, touching firm skin. "I... ," she began before trailing off. '_Come on, Miltia, find the nerve. Come out and say it_,' she thought.

"I need you to kill someone," she said. Outwardly it was all enforcer's steel. Inwardly she panicked as the die was cast.

Ruby straightened up, taking away the forearm, and breathed in deeply. It was exhaled in a rattle, letting Miltia see she was clearly shaken. Ruby opened her mouth to say something but failed to get words out. After a moment she slipped off of her co-belligerent and moved to sit upon the edge of the nearest of two beds. She spoke in a soft voice. "What?"

"This is for both of us," whispered Miltia insistently as she sat up, her nerve bolstered by seeing Ruby on the backfoot. "You're being investigated, Ruby," she explained, and immediately experienced a heady mix of satisfaction and terror as the other girl turned to look at her so sharply her hair flew in a wave. Miltia swallowed again and rode her nerve once more. "You've come to someone's attention; I don't know who wants to know. But you're being investigated by my old boss." She had scripted this scene in her head several times on the flight over, trying to think of the words that would reach Ruby safely. What she said next wasn't part of her scripting, but it had the desired effect. "I think we both know you have some skeletons to hide."

Ruby's face lost some of the bonfire-like intensity and she settled forward, resting her arms on her lap. "So what's your stake?" she asked.

Miltia got up and sat down next to her new partner in crime. "My old boss is threatening Melanie and me. He's come up with this stupid theory while investigating you that we betrayed him to Yang and, well, either we talk him out of it or he's going to eventually come for our heads." She bit her lip and shrugged. "That's how accusations of betrayal in the Underworld work."

"Do you think you can talk him down?" asked Ruby.

"No, not really," admitted Miltia. "Melanie would try hard, but now that he's made up his mind, I don't know how we can prove we didn't do what he's saying. It's hard to prove a negative, and what am I supposed to do, get Neo to promise she didn't talk with us?" She winced immediately upon using the name.

"Who?" asked Ruby in confusion.

"Doesn't matter," waved off Miltia, shifting gears quickly. "Melanie's bark is scary, really scary, but she doesn't have the bite to protect us. We do, though."

"You want me to kill your old boss?" clarified Ruby, rubbing her hands on her bare thighs as if for warmth.

"Yes!" insisted Miltia. "For both of us!"

"Do you have any kind of proof that he's investigating me?" asked the younger girl, leaning around to catch Miltia's eye and glare up at her. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

"You yourself said I was a bad liar," pointed out Miltia quietly, but with her eyes narrow and angry. "Lying was your hobby, not mine,"she added heatedly.

To her complete lack of surprise, the girl exploded at that. "Eugh, you sneaky little jerk!" Ruby stood up and paced around the room. "You're being so annoying right now."

"What, you still think I should have told you on campus?" asked Miltia, brows arched. "Left a phone message?"

"Are you insane?" asked Ruby sharply, arms raised widely.

"Then you know why I brought you out here to talk this over with you," declared Miltia, resting her hands on the edge of the mattress. "Although I'm not sure why this is such a big deal to you, little Miss Body Count."

"Grimm and Dust," muttered Ruby, before coming to a halt right in front of Miltia, whose brows rose at the closeness. The girl was so near that their knees touched, making her mouth feel cottony, even as Ruby fixed her with a glare and an outthrust finger. "You know," whispered the girl, "There will be people who will be very angry with the pair of us if they find me freelancing."

That brought Miltiades up short, and she felt goosebumps prickle across her arms. "O-okay," she replied, unable to stop a lot of her starch washing away with the sudden wave of unease. "Well," she began, clawing for any possible answer, "This isn't actually a job? I mean, I'm not paying you. You're protecting yourself from discovery."

"You _should_ pay me," grumbled Ruby, stepping away.

Exasperation at that comment pushed away some of Miltia's nerves. "We both benefit here, but if you like I can go down to the corner store and see if they sell cookies."

The younger girl's head flashed around and fixed Miltia with a glare that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. But after a few heartbeats, Ruby eased off and even allowed herself a smile. "Jerk," she said, though without heat. "So who is this guy?"

"Hei 'Junior' Xiong," answered Miltiades. "He's a big guy, in his thirties, and he owns a nightclub that was the front for our information brokerage." Between the smile coming her way and the move to mission details, the tension in Miltia's shoulders began to relax. '_I wonder if she knows __how good that sweater looks on her?_' she thought to herself as she gave Ruby a little up-down when she noticed her seemingly distracted by parsing the details.

"Ah, wait, I know who he is now," forestalled Ruby. She tilted her head at Miltia. "You worked for him? Wow, okay, you two were more legit than I figured," she said with a chuckle. "You know," she added after a moment, "When you told me to meet you out here with my weapon and to pack my battle dress, I … look, I'm not sure why, but I brought a couple ... let's call them special toys. Because I had a silly little feeling that you needed someone toast. I mean, coming out here like this, 'something only I could do', you either had something illegal on your mind or you wanted, umm, to, ahh…"

"Wanted to what?" asked Miltia in a deceptively mild voice.

"To get even with Alice," finished Ruby self-consciously, refusing to look the other girl in the eye.

Miltiades reached out and poked her in the side. It had made her furious when Weiss implied she might do something like this, but it was frustrating to hear it being echoed by Ruby. She couldn't be angry at the girl for it. After all, she was being warned by people she trusted.

"I am never that petty when it comes to girls, ever," declared Miltia firmly. "Sex for me is about sharing fun, never for getting back at someone or hurting someone. I know we've only really been talking for a couple weeks now, and I guess you might get an odd impression from me and Alice … but I think you should still know me better than that by now."

"You screw with my head, Miltia," accused Ruby. "You're dishonest with me, you screw with my head, and you twist me around your finger." She shook her head, a frustrated look in her eyes. "Don't say it's all about fun, or not about hurting someone. I get hurt all the time around you."

"Do you really want to do this now?" asked Miltia. "I just asked you to kill someone, and this is what you want to talk about?"

"No, no, no," objected Ruby, waggling a hand. "You asked me to kill someone _with you_. You think it's the first part I should freak out about?" She paused, but Miltia had no reply. "Killing, well, you know how I paid off Crescent Rose. I don't want to say it's easy, but it is what I do. You, though, Miltiades Malachite, you are _hard_ for me." Ruby set her hands on her hips and squared off at Miltia. "So I want to know what is going on here."

The older girl hitched forward on the edge of the bed and narrowed her eyes, allowing herself a dangerous dollop of honesty. "You idiot, Ruby," she snapped. "I don't act like this because I want to see you hurt. I do this because I don't know whether to kiss you or deck you." She threw her hands up. "God, I've known girls who I've felt that for, but you're the first girl who has made me feel those urges in the same damn moment."

"Oh." Ruby scuffed at the floor with her foot, holding her hands behind her back. "You know," the girl said slowly. "It's not that I think you're some kind of super-jerk who would use me to get back at Alice."

"Good to know," said Miltia dryly, rolling her eyes.

"I just … you invited me out to a motel for a weekend," said Ruby. "I had no way to know you meant something as crazy as this. And I … couldn't think of another reason why you would want me."

"What the hell, Ruby," snapped the older girl. "Those were your possibilities? Here's a clue, you little minx, if I really had no interest in you, I'd be ignoring you and keeping my distance." When the girl looked away, Miltia added, "And I certainly wouldn't be inviting you into a conspiracy to save my neck. I don't know why you seem to have this recurring confidence issue, but it does drive me crazy."

"Older girls," answered Ruby quietly, making Miltia sit up straight. "I spent so long avoiding anyone closer to Yang's age to try and keep my dating under wraps that, well… Yes, I know, Alice was interested enough, but that was part of a wager. The only thing I have over you is an ability to kill things, and that doesn't help a lot when I'm trying to figure out where I stand with a girl, you know?"

"Oh god, you stupid little brat, how can you be this dense?" sighed Miltia in disbelief, earning a grin from the other girl. '_She just waves it off, is Weiss conditioning her to accept insults or something?_' thought Miltia to herself in concern.

She had to shift as Ruby sat down next to her again, landing hip to hip. "Alright, fine, I'm going to trust you. Did you have a plan?" asked the younger girl.

"Right... A plan, well, sort of. He very rarely leaves the club, he basically lives there," said Miltia slowly, switching gears in her head. "When he leaves, he takes a lot of henchmen, so, actually, the offices at the club are where he feels most at home. So we do it there." She hesitated for a moment. "Okay, honestly, it's not exactly a plan, but I'm adapting, alright. I kind of hoped you could help figure this part out."

"Can you get me in there?" asked Ruby with a frown. "I can't go in blind. I need to see where I'll be operating."

"Okay, so we'll need…," began Miltia. The Malachite girl began to think over what they had already covered and what Ruby had asked, when something the girl had said clicked in her mind. "Wait. Only you would bring 'special toys' in the event I _wasn't_ trying to sleep with you. That's so ass-backward." She shook her head. "What did you bring?"

"Oh, you'll see," deflected Ruby with a skyward glance.

"Whatever. So … I don't suppose you own any clubbing gear?" she asked with the ghost of a smirk. "We'll need that to get in."

"Clubbing gear?" repeated Ruby. "I'm a scythe user, why would I-oh wait, nightclub. I'm a goof," she concluded. She shook her head. "No, I don't. Wait... Oh crap, clothes hunting again?" Ruby let herself fall back on the bed with a sigh. "This is just getting absurd."

"You'll need to look the part if you want to get in the club," pointed out the older girl.

"Yeah, yeah…"

Miltia made a half turn on the bed, bringing one leg up, and took the opportunity to look Ruby over in the pause that fell over them. The girl was looking up at the ceiling, but her eyes were unfocused, as if she was drawn deep within herself. Ruby had arrived in a rust red, long-sleeved sweater that hugged her snugly, straddling the line between modest and enticing, that wicked, coquettish blend that Miltia had already seen the minx embrace so well. It reached a line high on her thighs, riding up upon a pair of shorts that were normally hidden by the turtleneck sweater. '_Grimm and Dust, she's tasty when she embraces it. You can't convince me she doesn't do this consciously,_' thought Miltia before pinching herself. "That sweater looks new?" she noted, working to keep a hungry note out of her voice.

"I bought it on the way here with some of my bounty money from that last mission," explained Ruby. "I wanted something I hadn't been seen in before, so I went to a place I'd heard Weiss mention before and played a big game of 'What would Weiss buy?'" She sat up, shoes perched on the edge of the bed. "I think it worked alright."

"It did, but I hope you didn't spend all of your bounty on that," observed Miltia. Ruby laughed at that and shook her head, making Miltia blink in surprise. "What, not even close? That's pretty expensive looking ... just how much was your bounty, anyway? I got about a thousand Lien for the big Ursas, five hundred for most of the normal guys and about a hundred for the juveniles, so about six thousand all up." When she thought it over, her eyes lit up. "Fuck, did you get sole credit for the Major?!"

"I did alright," demurred Ruby with a silly grin. "Little guys don't earn much. Soloing that really old Ursa Major on the other hand…" A delighted giggle escaped her.

"Whatever," said Miltia, shaking her head in disbelief. "Just as well, if you want into the club, you'll need to look the part."

"Of course," sighed Ruby. "Just think of it as a disguise," she whispered.

"Yeah, that's sorta like what it is," agreed Miltia. "I have this place for the weekend for our home base. Have to check out by Monday at the latest." Ruby looked around her and nodded in acceptance. "Now, I can take you to places that sell the right clothes in the area, I'll help you with that."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Great," she said, lips pulled to the right wryly.

"Anything else you want to take care of before we go see it?" asked Miltia. "Hey, what? Stop laughing!" she protested when Ruby exploded mirthfully. She folded her arms irritably. "I take it I'm missing some steps for a job like this?"

"That'd be a yes," teased Ruby, "If you want it done right, anyway. And by right, I mean with no one knowing we were there. Get ready to go run a lot of errands."

* * *

><p>"Bravo, Miss Schnee," lauded Alice as she approached Weiss and her knot of Company attendants. She watched with satisfaction as the ivory-haired heiress immediately detached herself from the minders and closed the distance to Alice. It was always nice when someone actually wanted to see you, after all. The Sgathan girl made a slight teasing curtsy to her old friend and ally.<p>

"Oh, cut that out," complained Weiss, bringing a smile to Alice's face.

"That was quite the introduction you gave the Paladin," complimented Alice. "To think, I had already seen the test footage, and knew the spec sheet inside and out, yet still you amazed me with your mechanical marvel." She leaned in with a conspiratorial gleam. "I must say, the footage cannot compare to the real thing."

'_Although you shall certainly have quite the task on your hands convincing Vale to establish a standing force of such engines of war,_' thought Alice with an inward grin she had to suppress. '_Good luck!_'

"Yes, well it certainly has an imposing quality to it," observed Weiss wryly. "It was quite something standing next to it on stage."

"Do you expect to sell many?" asked Alice.

"Of course! The military in Atlas is in love," replied Weiss excitedly. "General Ironwood is a huge fan, he even offered to voice the public demonstration of the AP-290." The girl glanced around herself, then said in a lowered voice, "Now, obviously we replace the existing heavy mechs. Ironwood also wants every division to be supplemented with a battalion of Paladins, and an organic company with each of his human brigades. Even if he doesn't get his way on the new heavy mech division, which, well, may be a bit too far, we still expect to easily clear a thousand unit sales, maybe three times that," she said enthusiastically, casually divulging what Alice knew to be highly classified procurement details of the kingdom. Of course, such was the nature of the business that Alice didn't bat an eyelid at the disclosure.

"Dare we hope for Mistral?" asked Alice.

"I have my doubts, but we are going to be presenting there a month from now or so," answered the Schnee heiress. "I'm sure this will be a big seller. But I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I'm supposed to win you over, you know."

Alice gave a little tsk and clasped her hands behind her back. "Win me over? Have I been lost? You could come back any time you like, my dear." Her smile was honest, but tinged with sadness. She knew Weiss was discussing business, but she wasn't all that interested. For all she took her duties as a daughter of Sgathan House seriously, with her old comrade, it didn't seem to matter so much.

Weiss paused and gave her a look that spoke of old wounds. "Not like that, Alice," she said quietly. The blonde girl said nothing, just smiling with an old patience and tenderness as she waited for her friend. "My dear father," continued Weiss, "And the board, would love for me to get Sgathan Weaponworks to bid for the next generation of its fire control systems. As I mentioned, with at least a thousand units in Atlas alone, it could be a huge earner for Sgathan, even at the suggested remuneration."

"Oh dear, that little matter," said Alice, a playful disappointment in her voice. "We'd be happy to bid, but not at the extortionate rates your father desires. There are competitor mechs who would value our services as well, you know." She gave Weiss an admonishing look. "So many things you could ask me for, yet you ask me for unpleasant corporate trifles." A great heaving sigh escaped her chest. It was purely for dramatic effect, which both girls knew perfectly well. Nonetheless, the forms must be observed, and Alice's sense of theatre sustained. After all, Alice felt, what was the value of being alive if you couldn't indulge the fun parts? "Well, my ivory queen, you have spoken and I shall obey. My voice will speak in favour when I am called to report to the board. I trust this shall soothe over any lingering resentment over your young sweetheart?"

Weiss' smile froze half-formed across her face at the mention of Ruby. "Alice," she said quietly after a pause that went on for a terrible long count of heartbeats. "That little lunatic is very … important to me, okay? But even though she can seem really mature in some ways, she can be really childish and naive, too. If you took advantage of that, then that is not okay. If you can promise me that you were fair and honest with Ruby, then I would be satisfied."

Alice did her very best to suppress every sign of the emotion, but a palpable sense of relief flooded through her. Her tryst had in the end attracted no greater penalty than a promise to advocate a commercial decision she might otherwise have disagreed with. It was an unbelievably gentle price to pay for having trod in the personal affairs of the society tyrant.

"I promise, Miss Schnee, that I was an absolute paragon with your friend," replied Alice, dipping into a curtsy once more. "I laid my terms fairly and justly, and followed through just the same."

"Alright," accepted Weiss, resting a hand on her hip. "That will do for me."

Inwardly, Alice railed in frustration. '_What will it take for you to finally wake up to yourself and bed the little damsel already!?_' It was something she was dying to say out loud, but was still too afraid of Weiss' reaction to say.

"Actually, about Ruby," said Weiss slowly. "I wondered if I could ask you something."

"About Miss Ruby?" echoed Alice, before smiling craftily. "Really, my dear, surely the only things I could tell you are the things you swear you don't wish to know."

'_Oh dear, too close to the sun with that comment!_' thought Alice as she watched Weiss' tense reaction.

"Nothing like that," said Weiss quickly. "And if you start gossiping and singing her praises at the after-party, there will be trouble."

"Miss Schnee, you would leech away all the fun of the aftermath of a tryst," observed Alice in dismay.

"Endure it," said Weiss sharply, much to Alice's delight, although she softened a moment later. "Just have a heart, and keep the girl's interests close would you? Her naivety can be surprising."

"Fine words for someone who lies about her feelings for the girl endlessly," pointed out Alice before her brain could catch up.

But rather than the expected explosion Alice was bracing herself for, Weiss simply threw up her hands in frustration. "Oh, not you too! I already have my other two teammates needling me about this." She frowned at Alice for a moment. "But no, I was asking something different."

'_Do I have allies in Weiss' camp?_' thought Alice as she smiled. "Then please, my ears are yours," said the blonde heiress.

"Ruby packed a bag and went out into the city today, I'm not sure what she's doing," explained Weiss. "But … well, a couple weeks ago, me and Ruby went into the city and I paid off her backup blade. For her scythe. But she also picked up another blade set that was already paid for. I never saw what it was; on different invoices, you see. But she's taken it into the city with her. I figure it has to be something different than just another backup, but I can't think of what."

Alice tilted her head and pondered the question, pleased to have the ivory-haired girl come to her with this. So she thought carefully about possibilities, being silent for a few seconds as Weiss waited patiently.

"Perhaps the young Miss Ruby purchased a Dust-infused blade for compound attacks?" offered Alice, bringing up the first possibility to come to mind and the most likely.

"I thought of that," replied Weiss, "But this was a few days before she reminded me she didn't consider Dust for much beyond cartridge propellant. It doesn't seem quite right."

"Then might it be a blunted practice blade?" continued Alice. "Was she accompanied?"

"No one left with her," said Weiss slowly. "I guess it could be a practice blade. That makes sense." She bit her lip then shook her head. "No it doesn't," she declared after a moment's thought. "That dolt only trains with live steel. I've never seen her take any precaution like that."

"Then I couldn't possibly imagine what it could be," demurred Alice, before she paused. The implications of something Weiss had said abruptly clicked and a mild sense of outrage flushed through her. "Excuse me, Weiss, but 'purchased new blades'? You didn't do that through Sgathan House. Might I inquire as to the providence of these blades?"

Weiss froze like a deer in the headlights. "Aheh," she muttered. "Subiaco Metallurgy."

Alice took a moment to consider that, frowning darkly. "Well, if she must cheat on me, at least it's with a brand that knows how to work metal."

"Cheat on you?" echoed Weiss in an amused marvel.

"Yes, cheat," protested Alice indignantly, "My family can be trusted to provide all of my friends with the finest craftwork with the most generous consideration."

"I think you'd go broke trying to discount Ruby's blades too far," teased Weiss. "I was shocked by how much they were."

There were only a few other possibilities for the weapons expert to consider. Of these was only one likelihood. Alice stopped and and shifted nervously, scuffing at the ground with her high heels.

"What is it?" asked Weiss in surprise.

"There is one other thing it might be," said Alice slowly. "I hesitate to suggest it, because they are extremely taboo, but those of us in the weapons industry indulge in them from time to time. And for very special, or very well connected, clientele, we may engage in such work on the sly." She ran her fingers through her blonde locks, not playfully but rather for comfort and reassurance. "But Miss Ruby is such an _interesting_ weapons aficionado that she may have wanted to tick this box."

"Oh, this'll be good," drawled Weiss, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Do stop talking in circles."

Alice looked up sheepishly. She answered honestly and in so doing accomplished the difficult task of sending the wintry-hued Weiss Schnee a whiter shade of pale.

* * *

><p>"Okay," muttered Ruby to herself as she half-unfurled her weapon and began the process of detaching the complicated head assembly. To combat grease stains and scratches she had taken one of the towels from the shower and laid it out on the room's surprisingly sizeable desk. To protect her new clothes she had also switched into a very worn t-shirt she didn't care about. "Let's see if this works." She placed the business end of the weapon on the desk. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a small metal kit, which with a button press transformed into a rather more sizeable metal toolbox, one of her first test projects when it came to developing transformational gear.<p>

She laid out the tools of her trade: special screwdrivers, spanners, wedges, keys, plus a few esoteric instruments. With nimble fingers and a long, thin tool, the young weapons nut went along the casing to find a series of small openings in the crimson panel work. The tool slipped into each slot, unlatching the clasps securing the panel with a click. With a smile she set aside the panels as she freed them, baring the inner workings of the weapon.

"Weapon maintenance?" asked Miltia, making Ruby jump and twist around.

Miltiades was right in behind her, leaning close enough for Ruby to feel her startled breath on her skin. "Geez, Miltia, I didn't even hear you come back," she muttered, settling into her chair again.

"It wasn't far," shrugged Miltia calmly. Ruby wondered if she was really as nonchalant as she seemed. "I got you blue hair dye, it'll be something different for you if nothing else. I'll put up with the pink, and here," she said, dropping a large roll of papers on the desk, "Are the blueprints you wanted."

"I hate the blue already," replied Ruby with a sigh. "And it isn't even in my hair yet. But you're not supposed to like disguises so whatever."

"So what are you up to?" asked Miltia, looking at the massively complicated innards of the weapon that had impaled her not even a month ago.

"Changing the blade to something kinda, uh, special," admitted Ruby. When Miltia made a questioning sound, Ruby twitched and stood up, taking hold of the older girl and sitting them both upon the edge of the bed. The expression on her face was deadly earnest, and her focus made her miss the surprised look Miltia threw at the hand placed upon her knee. "Okay, this is…"

"Ruby, what are you doing?" asked Miltia bemusedly.

"I need you to be okay with this and not judge me," said Ruby nervously. "This isn't something that anyone knows I have and I need you to promise to keep it to yourself. And I mean no one knows, not even Weiss, my sister, Blake, Alice."

"Why would that surprise me, considering what else they don't know?" asked Miltia blandly, but Ruby winced as the words struck home.

"You've brought me out here to murder someone, you don't get to judge me, okay?" pushed Ruby, trying to get this infuriating, enticing girl to at least meet her halfway.

"Fine," said Miltia. "I don't get to judge you." She seemed to bite back on something extra, brows knitted darkly.

Ruby picked up the spare blade case that had been resting on the bed and laid it on Miltiades' lap. She produced a small key and unlocked two clasps, then opened the surprisingly heavy case.

"Wait, those blades are actually made of tiny pieces?" remarked Miltia, glancing up at Crescent Rose. She made a surprised little grunt that the other girl thought was actually rather cute. Then Miltia picked up one of the individual metal plates and held it up. When she saw the edge, she was startled so badly she nearly knocked the whole case upon the ground.

"Wait, those are … Oh my god, Ruby Rose, what were you thinking!?" she exclaimed, eyes wide as moons. "Those are the real deal!"

"Aheh, yeah, they, umm, are," admitted Ruby. She picked up the plate and ran her thumb over the pronounced shark-teeth like pattern. A pattern full of individual Aura-overwhelming pinpoints. Like a blade full of the sort of beak-first hits Ruby employed in her fighting style.

"You own a set of sawtooth anti-personnel blades...," said Miltia, letting out a breath like she'd been punched. "Ruby, you're a trainee Huntress now, what do you possibly even need these for?"

"Ah, well..."

"You know that this kind of weapon is _strictly_ controlled, right?" continued Miltia. "Their only use is busting Auras. Like, the same treaty between the kingdoms covering prisoner welfare also forbids the military from using these. Even in the Underworld we don't use 'em. Get caught carrying this sort of gear, you disappear. And most of us would make it a very slow disappearance, if you get me. I mean even the White Fang doesn't use this stuff." She shook her head in disbelief. "This is such a bad idea."

"You wanted someone dead, don't complain to me about how it's done. Anyway, I'll be the one carrying it," replied the younger girl as Miltia closed the case and set it aside. "So don't freak out."

Miltia gawped at her for a moment, then turned on the bed, putting her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. Ruby found herself being pushed back. "Don't freak out!?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "Uh, no, Ruby. I'm gonna freak out, okay? _For you_, even, since you apparently don't have the good sense to freak out for yourself."

Ruby fell back against the mattress under the weight. Miltia loomed over her from the side, hands still on the other girl's shoulders. Both girls were oblivious to the shift, locked eye to eye. "Miltia, this is my risk," objected Ruby. "You probably won't even be there when I hit Junior."

"Ruby, if you're seen with that blade, you can't talk your way out of it," was the reply, as Miltia's grip tightened. "Without it, if it all goes wrong, you could just say you were trying to beat up the boss to warn him off. Junior would pulp you, but you'd live to see another day. It'd be normal behaviour for the Vale Underworld. But if you go in there with sawteeth, everyone knows you meant murder. Leave yourself a way out if you make a mistake."

"You're getting hung up on silly social norms. If I walk in there with that blade loaded, I'll be unstoppable," replied Ruby softly. "Whoever, whatever. No one would withstand my sweetheart."

Miltia nodded silently, closing her eyes."Look, I hate having to worry about other people's opinions of me just as much as, well, you do," said Miltia, eyes still closed as she forced herself to speak her mind honestly. "But you can't just ignore this stuff. I don't know what's gone wrong in your childhood to make you think this ... this reckless, kill and die attitude is okay, but it's not. Please, for everyone's sake, get some self-preservation instincts."

She let go of the girl and sat up, looking away as Ruby lay supine and rubbed her neck in surprise. "How did you possibly even get your scary little mittens on something like this?" asked Miltia hollowly, tossing the question over her shoulder. "I don't think I could get a set of sawtooth claws even if I wanted to." She closed the lid of the case and looked at the labelling. "Mother of Grimm, these are professionally made, too. Not amateur work. How did you get a professional weaponsmith to make these?"

Ruby sighed and turned towards Miltia. "You know how I said people wouldn't like me freelancing?"

"Yeah?"

"That's all I'm going to say," concluded Ruby, shaking her head.

"That's so not an answer. What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?" breathed Miltia, before holding up a hand. "Not a real question, don't answer." She moved further onto the bed and sat next to Ruby, resting a hand on her waist. "Look, don't put the sawteeth in. Please, leave it for tomorrow and make the decision then. You're so deadly already, just trust yourself."

A long silence passed between them, which for all no words were spoken, said much to both girls. "Nice to know you care," said Ruby with a huff, before finally slumping in acceptance. "Fine, you win. Standard blade for now..."

* * *

><p>"You can fuck right off, Velvet."<p>

"Yeah, Velvet, go mind your own business!"

"I am not going to warn you two again," said Velvet, both hands taut on Wishbearer's grips. The psychoreactive Dust began to glow faintly in their vials, responding to the faintest touch of Velvet's aura.

It was the same Jaws of Menagerie punk again, trying to recruit among the drunk and disaffected outside the pub that lay between the train station and Velvet's home. She and others had run him off before. But he had his hooks in some pig-headed fool who'd been laid off work some months ago and the smug cat-faunus just didn't want to go away now.

"Again?" snorted the Jaws stooge. "Guess I plain wasn't paying attention the first time. What do you think you're going to be able to do if I decide to stay right here?"

Velvet couldn't believe her ears, either pair. This was supposed to be a relaxing weekend, she didn't want to go around thumping silly people! But if this was the way he wanted it, well, it was going to be the way he got it. Wishbearer was subtly slipping down, ready to spear into the man, when she could hear creaking muscles behind her. Big, scary ones, from an angle that said it was coming from quite a height. But she didn't even begin to feel fear, as her sensitive nose caught a familiar scent. The two thugs took backwards steps, fear writ large on their faces.

"Although, actually," said the recruiter. "I think I forgot something back … um, somewhere. We'll have to settle this later!" And with that he was off like a shot, rushing across the street, while his mark scampered back inside the drinking hole.

Velvet stayed facing away from the new arrival, trying to get her breathing under control. Wishbearer compacted again, and was returned to its spot on her belt. Finally, she turned on her heels, planting both fists firmly upon her hips.

"Yatsuhashi Daichi," she began, her voice like a whip-crack. "Whatever is a girl to do with you?"

The young human man, all seven foot of him, stood before her, dressed casually bar a single set of spaulders on his left shoulder. His mighty sword hung across his back. He was quiet as always, but his smile was evocative. Velvet melted instantly.

"Those threads suit you much nicer than that oppressive looking uniform," she noted, before her eyes fell upon his shoulder armour. "Yatsu! Hasn't Haven Academy taught you to take care of your equipment? Just look at the scarring on your spaulders!"

"Harder for me to get under an Ursa's paw than you," he said.

'_You are not tearing up, you are _not_ tearing up_,' Velvet told herself firmly. "You couldn't have told me you were coming with the Vytal Festival crew?"

"And let you hide all your boyfriends?" retorted Yatsuhashi.

'_Looking forward to surprising me, were you?'_ thought Velvet with a heartfelt sigh. '_Well, it worked._' She looked around and saw they were getting some attention. "Let's go back to the cafe, I know Mom will want to see you again. And, if she's busy, well, the kitchen is still as noisy as ever…"

They made their way to Velvet's original destination, Scarlatina's Cafe. She had only planned to drop in on her folks and then either head back to Beacon or maybe see about joining Jaune's efforts to go grinding. But if Yatsuhashi was back in town, they had catching up to do.

"Oh, Velvet!" called Saffron the moment they had entered the cafe. "Another weekend, another visit! You'll spoil my poor heart at... _Yatsuhashi!_ Oh, my dear boy, you're back!" she exclaimed, wiping her hands on her apron and rushing up to the pair. "It's so good to see you again; have you checked in on your mother yet?"

"Of course, Missus Scarlatina," he said, just as polite as ever. "Good to see you again as well."

"Your favourite little waitress will be glad to see you again, as well," said Saffron with a weary-looking smile. "You won't believe how much she's grown in even these last few months. Careful, you'll need to start screening both genders around her. Velvet's partner at Beacon was here and she seems to have either confused her or … revealed something. I guess we'll find out."

"You'll have to tell me about your partner," said Yatsu, looking back to Velvet. He had always doted on Sara, but it was to Velvet's lasting pride that it was only for herself that Yatsuhashi would go into battle.

"And you'll have to tell me about yours! My partner is a story for another time, though. It's a long one and getting longer all the time," she replied. She looked about the room and spotted her other parental figure. "Hey, dad!" she called with a wave. But her father did not look up, remaining locked in discussions with their family friend Trevor, and some pink-haired rabbit Faunus with a chain scythe she did not know.

"Oh, you'll have to forgive Mark," said Saffron, though her tone left no doubt she had little intention of indulging his behaviour. "He's been using that noise-canceller toy of his and has been locked in talks all day." She picked up and flung a spoon at her husband. What he exclaimed upon impact did not pass the soundwave-killing fields surrounding his table, but Velvet could lip-read well enough.

"Velvet! Honey, good to see you again," said Mark as he turned off the device. "And wow, Yatsuhashi, back from Haven? Good to see you again, too!"

"Velvet, looking as deadly as you are pretty, as always," grunted Trevor. "And God's Horns, will you ever stop growing Yatsuhashi?"

"Glad to see you as well, Mister Scarlatina," replied Yatsu. "Trevor," he added.

The pink-haired woman said nothing, eyeing them both speculatively.

"I'm terribly, terribly sorry, Velvet, but I'm tied up with something here," said her father, before he ushered her close. When she was standing before him, he whispered into her ear, "We may have the definitive evidence about your friend Blake. We'll discuss it tonight, make sure you're here."

Velvet went ghost-white for a moment, but nodded and slowly recovered. She returned to Saffron and Yatsuhashi as her father reactivated the noise-canceler.

"...but I don't think I'll be able to stay for dinner, I'll have to head back to the Beacon dorms for the night," Yatsuhashi was saying as Velvet got near again.

"Such a shame," said Saffron. "Okay, Velvet, I'll be able to talk more when the afternoon chef arrives in a half-hour, but for now, try to stay out of trouble. Make sure Mister Daichi here doesn't run off and miss lunch with me!"

"Of course, Mother," said Velvet. "Come on, Yatsu, let's go upstairs, I need to show you the CDIS we made for my enrollment: Wishbearer. She is so cool!"

* * *

><p>Plastic takeaway containers from dinner were scattered around the desk. It was a touch past eight in the evening and Ruby and Miltiades were poring over the blueprints upon the desk. Miltia, who had the inside knowledge, was highlighting all the quirks of the layout, and a few places where it no longer matched the official blueprints.<p>

"Okay, do we just want to go now?" asked Ruby as she settled back, frowning balefully at her newly dyed brightly hued locks when they fell into view. Miltia had overseen her conversion from naturally dark red hair colour into a vibrant blue. She was certainly not a fan though, even if Miltia had to put up with violent pink hair.

"It's too early, it will be too sparse," answered Miltia with a sigh. "Plus those who are there will be more sober, the guards more alert. Too easy to be noticed. We'll sneak in around ten."

"Silly sober people messing with my bedtime," quipped Ruby. "So, how are we going to get in?"

"I'm still thinking," admitted Miltia, running a fingernail around the perimeter on the blueprint. "We could just trust the disguise and go through the front door. But depending on who is there, I may still be recognised. Worst case scenario, they recognise us, but let us in and then trap us."

"I hate the idea of being without my scythe," said Ruby tensely. "Gotta be _so_ careful not to start a fight."

The two girls continued to look over the maps and pictures for the safest way in. After a moment, Miltia noticed a fey look upon her partner-in-crime's face. The girl was switching between floor plans and photos with a purpose. "Have you got it?"

"I might. Do ... do you guys patrol your rooftop?" checked Ruby.

"No, should be clear," confirmed Miltia.

Ruby grinned giddily. "Perfect! Ooh, this entrance is going to be so cool!" she gushed as she fished out several of the papers. "We'll go in from this neighbouring building here…"

Five minutes later her partner-in-crime slowly nodded. "Okay, that could work," she agreed. "Though I'm not sure how you thought of it. Only one more thing to do, then..."

"Eh?"

"I'm going to get changed," announced Miltia, standing up and walking over to pick-up her bag and walk into the bathroom. "And then we're going to make you look the part."

The smile disappeared off of Ruby's face, replaced by a deep sigh. "Oh, that," she said. But after a moment, as she watched Miltia disappear behind the door, she gave a silly, lopsided little smile. Soon Miltia had emerged again, transformed from her rather dull street clothes into something three parts spice, one part lust.

'_Mother. Of. Grimm,_' went thunderously through Ruby's head.

"Miltia, that's, umm," she stammered, colour speckling her cheeks.

Miltiades was clad very tightly in a dress that clung to every swell and curve. It was a sky blue in colour, with an arched skirt, no straps and a zipper that ran all the way from the neckline plunge to two inches above the hem. With it she wore pearl-hued high heels with straps that ran up to her knee. Pink hair was piled up high in a time-saving trick she had learned from some of the singers that used to perform at the club.

"Yes?" asked Milita pleasantly.

"Y-you look nice," said the younger girl awkwardly, going back into her shell at a rate of knots. Whatever comfort familiarity had afforded her disappeared as she found herself looking at the indisputably more mature girl.

"Don't worry, once I get you out of the clothes store, I bet I'll have the same reaction," said Milita dryly.

"I don't think I could pull off a look like that," denied the nervous young girl with a dry mouth.

Miltia sighed and walked up to Ruby, putting her hands on the shorter girl's shoulders and giving her an intense look. "I've seen you in that sports bra and exercise short combo you work out in, and it nearly made me and Alice both drool. So shut up, you silly brat, I'll make sure you look the part."

* * *

><p>It was always busy for Neopolitan these days. Roman was bringing in Dust in what was becoming truly literal industrial quantities, and operations were going on everywhere. So many operations required the personal touch from the young woman however. Around midday, Neo was walking through the cluster of front-room offices in the great warehouse, moving between errands. Walking, that is, until she was arrested by a honeyed voice that emerged from an open office door.<p>

"Neopolitan, dear," called out Cinder without looking up from the scroll on her desk.

"Yes, Cinder?" replied Neo as she ducked her head into the office.

"I'm told the print-out of Junior's preliminary report is on your desk," informed her powerful leader. "Look it over and give me the run-down within the hour."

"Of course, I can do that," answered Neo in a wickedly dry voice. It took considerable effort to keep her voice clear of irritation. Although Cinder could sometimes be surprisingly lenient, it never paid to test one's luck.

The moment she was back in the hallway and out of earshot, Neo heaved a heartfelt sigh and made her way back to her office. Cinder had been getting edgier as the need to progress to the next step of her plan began to butt up against the continued inability to learn the truth behind the girl who had so violently reintroduced herself to Cinder's attention. Neo hoped the woman would be back to her jovially malevolent self once they had commenced the infiltration.

Upon return to her office, Neo took off her coat and hung it up in a corner. With a quick call out the door to the White Fang grunt working as receptionist outside, she arranged a fresh cup of coffee. She settled into a comfortable office chair and picked up the manila folder marked with Junior's name and crest. There were many of the neatly collated, single-spaced pages within, but Neo was confident there would be at least something worth the effort.

"Let's see what that pricey retainer gets us then," she muttered to herself as she began to look through the front page. It was a summary that contained many references to other pages, and other photographs or evidence briefs. Soon, though, she found herself tilting back with a snort, saying, "Yes, thank you, Junior, for telling us she's dangerous. We had been too busy pulling a pair of trigger agents out in about eight pieces to notice. Plus the rest of it."

Despite her exasperation, she continued on, helped by the arrival of her coffee. She noted with interest the pile-up of various anomalies and surprises described in the report. But there was as yet nothing meaty or definitive to explain who this girl was who had one-shot-killed three highly trained agents and a grunt. Neo groaned in frustration as she came to the last page with no further great revelations. With a distinct feeling she'd be better served doodling in the margins rather than actually reading the rehash of the personal details on the last page, Neo nevertheless did her best to be thorough for Cinder.

And then a name under "Extended Relatives" leapt off the page at her and she spat out her coffee, all over the sheet. She swore and cursed and used the paper to mop up the mess. Even as Neo engaged in her frantic cleanup, she yelled for the receptionist to reprint the report. The moment the new page was in hand she grabbed a red marker and violently circled the name in question before rushing back to Cinder.

"Prompt enough," observed Cinder as Neo stalked through the door. Cinder raised her eyebrows at Roman's offsider as the multi-hued operator silently handed her the amended sheet of paper. Slowly the mastermind picked up her coffee and took her time before receiving the sheet, enjoying the other woman's agitation.

When Cinder began to reach for the sheet, she glanced at the name circled in red. Immediately she froze perfectly still, and remained so for several seconds. Wordlessly she placed her mug upon the desk and seized the sheet. "Of course they are, of course they are," complained Cinder as she went over the whole thing carefully. "This is the problem with this whole organisation," she mused aloud, "The left hand and the right hand have no idea what the other is up to. Certain peers of mine clearly underestimate what I need to know," she sighed. Despite her outward calm, the tightness around her eyes betrayed the incandescent anger that bubbled within.

Cinder picked up her scroll and dialled in a number. But the call immediately went to an apologetic message. "And he's out of signal range, naturally," complained Cinder darkly. "Very well. I believe I know what's going on now," she added after a moment of calming.

"Does that mean we're green to go for the infiltration mission?" asked Neo.

A truly wicked smile spread across Cinder's lips. "If Ruby attempts to interfere, we now have a leash to use. You have two hours, Neopolitan, to be on the landing pad." She slipped back into her chair and folded her hands together. "I think we may even have an asset to make use of this. For now, you may tell Junior to call off the investigation."

* * *

><p>It was the kind of fashion store that a good society girl like Weiss would not be caught dead in. Even for Alice, knowingly dating a girl from an entirely different scene, this proclivity was awkward. But for middle-class Miltiades, working for Junior had given her a taste for the club with its throbbing music, pulsing lights and and energy. To say nothing of the ladies and the fashion.<p>

"I thought you were hanging around with some blonde honey," said the sales girl to Miltia with a raised eyebrow. The clothing store attendant was dressed to the nines in the latest trends.

"Yeah, Alice is her name," confirmed Miltia. "How the hell has _that_ gotten around the gossip network?"

"Same way it always does: social media," answered the attendant. "Who's this little sex kitten, then?"

"Ruby? You know, sometimes I honestly have no idea," joked Miltia with a wry smile.

Miltiades looked up at Ruby, who was staring angrily at two pairs of heels while holding a small parcel of garments that she had picked out with no small amount of prodding from Miltia. There was a firmly imprinted look of irritation on the girl's face. The revelation that heels were on the agenda had not been well-received, and the memory of the ensuing complaints made Miltia roll her eyes as she looked on. In the end, the older girl had won out by sending Ruby on a doomed effort to try to find one other girl in the store who was wearing sneakers. The girl's instinct for disguises took over from there.

"That … sounds complicated."

"You seriously have no idea," said Miltia with a laugh that faded abruptly into a sigh. "I worry that I've picked up a taste for pretty girls who can make me angry," she said drolly.

The sales girl giggled, pressing a hand over her mouth to try and control it. "Oh, Miltia," she got out through the giggles, "You are a _very _bad girl. With a _very _bad habit."

"Oh, shut up," said Miltia, rolling her eyes.

The two girls looked up when they heard the clumsy click-clack of a novice mishandling high heels to find out Ruby had made a decision and was trying out a pair of black shoes. It was a visually stunning yet grotesquely uncoordinated impression and Miltia had to laugh at her. '_Shame, they would look amazing on her, if she could get away with not moving,_' she thought with a snort.

"You fight in these lady stilts," marvelled Ruby without daring to glance up. "Your sister fights _with _these death traps!" A beat later she snapped, "Stop laughing!"

"You get used to it pretty quickly," explained Miltia with a dangerously mild tone. "Now stop acting like a kid, you're making me look like a cradle robber while I'm still just a student."

"Easy for you to… woah!" Ruby stumbled once more so Miltia grumbled and walked over to her.

"You're looking at the heels like they're some entirely new thing," explained Miltia. "Like they're a rite of passage or something." She held up a finger tip before Ruby, which just brushed the girl's lip. "Close your eyes, forget that you're wearing heels, and imagine you're hunting Grimm on an unstable surface. Use the instincts you use with Crescent Rose. I bet those can do the trick."

Ruby stared at Miltia for the longest time, eyes narrowed as she parsed the older girl's words, looking for the trick. Then she closed her eyes and with a deep breath, began to walk. Whether it was the change in mindset, or something else Ruby thought of on her own, she soon found herself adjusting her footfalls to work with the awkward angles. Partway through she opened her eyes to watch what she was doing, and gave herself a quick nod. Miltia likewise nodded her approval.

"Okay, well, I'll never look like a natural," concluded Ruby, "But, you know, maybe I can walk around the club without looking like a complete loser. Progress," she cheered with a silly lopsided grin, arms raised in mock-triumph. "Alright, now to try on the whole thing and then we'll finally be able to go!"

Together they walked to the fitting rooms. Miltia leaned against the door Ruby had ducked behind. She was looking forward to seeing the result of this trip. Ruby looked good enough to eat in the turtleneck she had worn, but the fashion sense showed clear signs of Weiss' society influence. Someone had to save the girl from that pit of misery.

"You know," said Ruby from behind the door. "I've never been to a club like this before."

"I'm shocked," drawled Miltia. "Your sister has." She could almost see Ruby wince in the pause that followed.

"Y-Yeah … but she certainly didn't take me," answered Ruby with a nervous-sounding laugh.

Before Miltia could open her mouth to answer, she was preempted by her scroll buzzing noisily in her handbag. She sighed intensely and contemplated ignoring it, but eventually succumbed. "Miltiades here," she said quietly into the phone.

"_Miltia, it's Velvet,_" came her partner's voice, low, urgent and clearly heavily stressed.

She sighed silently at the awkward timing, before replying. "Oh, hey Velvet. Hey, sorry, but this really isn't…"

"_Miltia, something's come up, I need help, like seriously, I need…,_" took over Velvet in a rush, heedless of the other girl.

"Wait, slow down," objected Miltia. She began to shift her feet awkwardly, her off-hand clutching the hem of her dress.

"_I can't slow down, this is super urgent,_" insisted Velvet. "_You'll understand when you get here. This is big and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I _need_ you here to back me up._"

As the conversation went on with Velvet relentlessly on the offensive, Miltia started shrinking in on herself, her head dipping lower. "Velvet, I can't go out there right now. I'm in the middle … Velvet, you can't do this to me, I'm…"

"_I am sitting on something that could tear this whole class apart. Just shut up and get out here, Miltia! What could be more important?! I'm going out of my mind here._"

"…Seriously?"

"_Yes, seriously! Oh my god, Miltiades, stop arguing!"_

"Fine, fine, I'll be there as soon as I can." The call disconnected and for a moment, the girl stood there, staring at her feet. "Ruby, we need to go see Velvet at her mother's cafe," said Miltia softly, ashen with embarrassment that Ruby had heard her talked down like that. "There's an emergency she needs help with."

The door opened behind her and then Ruby was at her side with a gentle touch. "We? You want me to go as well?" asked Ruby in surprise.

"Yeah … hang on, let me get a look at you," said Miltia, turning and taking a step back. "Okay, the sweaters and the innocent dresses are nice and all, but that is much more like it," she declared as she inspected the result. It was golden in hue, something that the girl's violent older sister might prefer. A short skater skirt was matched to the sort of strapless, midriff-baring top that Miltia had needed to slowly convince Ruby that she could do justice.

"You know, I _kinda_ had my doubts about this," said Ruby as she saw her reflection.

"But you like the effect, right?" supplied Miltia wryly. "You'll fit in just fine." In a cheeky moment, she took up her scroll and quickly took a picture, even as Ruby shot her an admonishing look. "If I sent this to Yang, I think she'd die of envy."

Ruby blew her a raspberry, rolling her eyes. "Sis, envious of me? That'd be fun," she said with a laugh. "Although she said she's heard my list of exes is longer than hers so someone else is gossiping about me and I really need to find out who."

"I believe Alice is largely innocent in this one," defended Miltia. "It could be Weiss talking to Yang?"

"I guess…," said Ruby.

"Wait," blurted Miltia. "You've had more girlfriends than _Yang_?"

Ruby grinned and shrugged. "So why am I going with you?"

"You can't go to the club without me to help you around, so we'll just get there a little later, alright?" explained Miltia. "And … I want the company. Velvet's parents live in a suburb that's currently got a faunus terrorist turf war going on. I don't want to be a human by myself after dark. Last time I went I had Velvet with me."

The younger girl nodded and accepted that. "Sure, I'll keep you company. And so will sweetheart!"

* * *

><p>"Do you think they knew to dress up?" asked Weiss as she settled into a plush leather seat.<p>

"Miss Melanie consulted with me when we had a passing moment," replied Alice from the seat opposite. "I made sure she knew." They had changed since the presentation, Weiss into a shorter dress of the palest salmon, Alice into a sapphire blue knee-length dress with a ruffled skirt.

"I was more worried about Pyrrha," said Weiss. "Because whatever other sins Melanie used to commit, she was usually okay about her dress sense. Even if she did tread the party girl line a little closely."

Outside the tinted windows of the limousine, Weiss could watch the city pass by from safety. A dizzying variety of people trod the sidewalks. But so very few were her kind. She'd be lying if she said she didn't prefer it that way.

"Are you feeling bubbly?" asked Weiss.

Alice giggled gaily, but Weiss could pick the embarrassed strand hidden within. "A little high, but no champagne yet. Only a little, though, I promise."

Weiss caught Alice's gaze and held it. "Are you overdoing it lately?"

"Worry not for me, dear," replied Alice. "If I must be honest, I've cut back on the cocaine quite a bit since enrolling."

"Tch, you tell me to go back to it when you're getting off it?"

Alice shook her head. "We both needed to cut back, that's all. I can admit that much. It was banishing it that was so disagreeable. That was a terrible idea. _I'm_ certainly not giving it away." She paused then giggled again. "My Miltia, she thinks I'm wild and dangerous now. What would she say had she known me a year past?"

Weiss hesitated. "Alice... I would appreciate a little ... aid tonight. With the champagne," she asked. "I recently had a reminder of just how much I enjoy it."

"Of course," was all the girl said in reply. "I'd appreciate the same in return."

The driver knocked on the glass divider. They were near to the airship terminal.

"So Miltia knows you use, but what about Melanie?" asked Weiss.

"I think she suspects, but I've never confirmed it," replied Alice.

"Well," began Weiss as the limousine glided to a halt, "Try not to bring it up. I'd hate to get outed by association."

"Why should you fear the judgement of Miss Pyrrha?" sighed Alice. "But as you wish."

The door opened and first Pyrrha and then Melanie stepped inside. "Wow, I haven't been in one of these since the after-party of last year's regional tournament," said Pyrrha with a grin. She carefully made her way across to sit next to Weiss. Her long, buxom form was sheathed in a crimson dress with a white belt. Weiss would have suggested a different fabric, maybe a touch more modest in the neckline and daring in the skirt, but this would fit in well enough, and certainly looked dazzling.

'_And Melanie next to Alice,_' thought Weiss as she suppressed a grin, '_Just as planned..._'

Melanie wore a dress that seemed to show a bit of forethought, a true good-girl number that went to the neck and was fitted to the waist. Although there was plenty of fabric in the skirt, its flare was severe enough to make it rather daring, which she played with further by adding white stockings. Of course, Weiss knew it was still an off-the-rack number, from the minute issues with the fit, even if she recognised the style as coming from a particular high-end designer.

_'So that's where her bounty money went_,' thought Weiss. She swore to herself she wouldn't bring it up as a negative.

"Both of you ladies look lovely tonight," complimented Alice with a vivid smile. It was, Weiss reflected, an honest assessment.

"So where are we going?" asked Pyrrha, looking excited.

"Spring's Edge Estate, home of one of the more prestigious Vale families," answered Weiss. "Their youngest daughter has finagled the mansion for the weekend and is hosting. Nearly all the social set for our age group will be there. So don't be afraid to get noticed. The opportunities to network on a night like tonight are phenomenal. You'll have the entire next generation of government and business leadership all sitting under the one roof."

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what good that would do Melanie or me," said Pyrrha with a trademark smile.

"When you were on the cover of every Pumpkin Peter Marshmallow Flakes box," began Weiss.

"Great cereal," added Melanie.

"Yes... Anyway, didn't it help fund your equipment budget? Your training consumables?" asked Weiss. Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "There's a huge potential for patronage. So, if you get the chance, talk to a few of the girls in there."

"Not the boys?" asked Melanie.

"Save that topic for later, Miss Melanie, there's more to it than you may realise," said Alice quietly.

"Um, okay?" replied Melanie.

Small talk dominated the conversation from there as the four girls each sounded each other out. It was a ten minute drive that soon ended up in idle shop talk of weapons, led by Alice boasting of the superior Sgathan craftwork in Melanie's new elbow blades.

The feel of the limousine's driver's side door opening broke the conversation. Weiss immediately swept her surrounds for threats, in case the driver hadn't been the one to open the door. More than one society kid had met a sticky end in such circumstances. Alice knew likewise and after a moment they each exchanged nods. The driver opened the door to their cabin and offered a hand for each of the ladies to get out.

The moment she had left the vehicle, Weiss spotted the young miss of the house hustling towards them. A short red carpet marked out the distance from the looping front drive and the great oaken doors.

"Oh, Miss Schnee!" called the girl, who was barely old enough to be in the society and whom Weiss knew would be desperate to have her first big endeavour come off well. "_Delighted_ that you've joined us," she said, blonde ringlets flouncing. "I saw your presentation. The new Paladins are superlative."

"Thank you," replied Weiss in a carefully weighted tone. It would do the girl no good to be falsely effusive, after all. "I hope your party is likewise."

"O-Of course," answered the girl.

Weiss led them through the arching main hall of the mansion, where girls and boys came together in a vibrantly coloured swirl. Graceful to a fault, she was sticking her walk. She was careful to never look back as if she doubted the others were following her. Instead she stayed focused on picking her path through to where a discreet symbol over a doorframe indicated the parlour lay. Girls and boys subtly gave her the right of way, not obviously but with a gentle half-turn here, a step-in there. Subtle or not, it all resulted in a clear path.

'_News of my arrival at the Tybalt spread, I see,_' thought Weiss. '_Humiliate one to educate a hundred._'

It was all very gratifying.

The parlour was a high-ceilinged room that ran for the length of that wing of the mansion. The lights were dim and it was filled with various clusters of chairs, couches, and loveseats, around small coffee tables with silver serving platters and glassware. Pretty boys and girls were scattered to and fro, but were largely clustered around the seats. There was no smoke, for that was uncouth, but Weiss hoped Pyrrha was paying no great attention to the daughter of one of the city councillors who among friends was busily arranging a pinch of something special for herself.

Just as Weiss was wondering who she was going to bump off their table, the son of a banking executive who was presiding over a small knot of people spotted her. "Oh, Miss Schnee!" he called.

She gave the boy a bright and open look despite her suspicion, and approached him. He stood to greet her. "Lovely to see you among the Vale worthies, my dear," he began. "My friends and I were just heading to the ballroom. Perhaps you'd like this table?"

The petite, champagne-affected sweetling who had been sitting behind him reared back in surprise. "We were?" she squeaked.

"Of course we were, dear, didn't I just say so?" said the banker's son. The others caught his drift and swiftly joined the boy as he walked off.

"You're too kind," said Weiss, more or less meaning it as stated. The four girls took their seats, Weiss by herself in a plush throne, Alice and Pyrrha on a loveseat and Melanie sitting at the head of a lounge. "Well, I guess I owe the Canterbury's a minor favour."

"That young girl who was with him, was she okay?" asked Pyrrha cautiously as she slid into her seat.

"What, her?" said Weiss, indicating the retreating petite girl. "You shouldn't worry. She's just enjoying a much better grade of champagne than she's used to."

"Don't worry about her, Pyrrha, she's older than she looks," answered Melanie. "And she knows what she's doing."

'_Softy_,' thought Weiss, but she only smiled. Pyrrha's concerned expression eased away.

"Impressive turnout tonight," said Alice. "By night's end we should have effectively the whole young gala set of Vale."

"It's so glamorous out there," said Pyrrha. "The dresses, the suits, jackets, it's even more than I remember from Mistral."

"Mistral is considered the younger sibling to the Vale and Atlas scenes," explained Weiss. "Plus, everyone knows the whole society is out tonight, and with all the visitors from Atlas, they're all trying their hardest." A moment of consternation gripped her. She hoped this wouldn't be taken the wrong way. "Thanks for going to the extra effort tonight, Melanie, Pyrrha."

"It's all good fun," said Pyrrha.

"Don't be so sure," said Melanie, lips set thinly.

"Oh, Miss Melanie, don't make such a face, you'll spoil the effect of that lovely dress," said Alice.

Melanie took a moment before facing Alice. Weiss could tell she was anxious from how her chest heaved with deep breaths. But after a moment the girl seemingly had herself in hand again. "That won't do," replied Melanie at last, letting a smile broke out again.

"There, that matches the dress perfectly," said Alice.

A maid came by their table and silently replaced the glassware on the table. A second, more distinguished maid, followed on the first one's heels with a bottle of champagne and filled each flute to the brim. Weiss immediately slipped forwards and claimed the nearest glass. Alice likewise took up a glass, and raised it in apparent salute to her old comrade. But her lips mouthed the word 'remember'. Weiss nodded back.

Pyrrha left the glass meant for her lonely on the table, and instead hitched forward on her seat. "Would now be a good time to start?" she asked.

"This seems as terrible a time as any," replied Weiss, but she smiled anyway.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, sure," said Junior gruffly into the scroll. "You're still getting billed for the time spent." He paused for a while and frowned further. "Alright, pleasure dealing with you, Neo," he concluded with a dark humour in his voice before disconnecting.<p>

With a snort he tossed the scroll onto his desk. A noise made him look up. "Oh, hey, kiddo."

"Would you stop calling me that?" demanded the brunette. "My name is-"

"Neo just called off the investigation into Ruby Rose," interrupted Junior. "Didn't offer a reason and I didn't ask."

"Oh," said the girl. "Shame, I was interested in getting to the bottom of that."

"You will be," snorted Junior. "I'm leaving you on the case. I think Neo hadn't realised Ruby was so caught up among all the other people she used to chisel me and wants me to drop it before I cotton on. Too late."

The girl folded her arms and looked at her boss sternly. "Ah, that again," she said. "Tell me, Junior, if I find out all these people really did screw you, what are you going to do? I mean," she said, lips curling in a smirk, "I may be new to the underworld, but you're not going to just go around bumping off everyone who screwed you over."

"What, everyone?" said Junior with a deep, rumbling laugh. "Nah, I'd be regarded as a maniac. If you find proof it was a conspiracy then my batzooka starts introducing a lot of people to their local health care professionals. For the people who used to work for me, though? Yeah, you're right, Miss Adel. You are new here."

**A/N: Thanks everyone for reading. With a nice headstart on the next submission, hopefully that gets done soon. Some big things are planned for the next few chapters, particularly for Ruby, and I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you guys!**


	13. Cards on the Table

**A/N: Another chapter out the door, and it's always a mix of enormous relief and tremendous freak out!**

**Thanks to everyone who has helped push this story past 200 follows/150 faves and 25k views, it's all hugely appreciated! This chapter was fun to write, with a lot of character really under pressure. Unfortunately, I've had to truncate it a _little_ and leave some for future chapters, which is bad planning on my part, sorry about that. But what is left makes for a nice chunk of revelation and drama, with some action, so I hope you'll all enjoy. Fair warning, if it hasn't been noticed already, I don't necessarily tell the reader when characters are lying, so keep your wits with you as you read!**

**Thanks to my proofreaders (my wife, AceofAces, SLtheThird and Leviticus Wilkes), who have put in a lot of effort on this story!**

**Reviews are always appreciated, and I try to make sure I provide a reply to everyone.**

* * *

><p>Dusk had properly given over to night as Miltia and Ruby entered the boundaries of Peppermint Grove, where the street lamps worked alongside the commercial neon to light their way. On a Saturday night on the main road through the town, there was plenty of foot traffic. Miltiades rued bitterly that there hadn't been time to return to their motel room to get changed into something more practical for the long hike through a part of town that made her very uncomfortable. The flattering dress was the perfect fit for a club scene, but in the heart of this town, it stood out. As a human in Peppermint Grove, standing out was not the wisest choice. She could almost feel the unfriendly eyes.<p>

Despite the attention and discomfort, she wasn't afraid as she walked. In a world where a mix of Aura, Semblance, and Dust could make girls as unprepossessing as Ruby or Nora deadlier than a six-foot-six stack of muscle, the culture of street harassment and catcalling had never gotten on its feet. The further they got into the suburb, the greater the Faunus representation they encountered, and the darker the looks.

"More murals?" sighed Miltia as they saw the heavily painted side of an apartment block. A stylised shark, in the midst of an improbable breaching attack on a rich man in a top hat, was surrounded by the name, 'Jaws of Menagerie.' Beneath it was printed, 'Home of A-Coy, Pprm. Gve Bde'. Along the top was a list of names under the title, 'Heroes'. There were over a dozen of them listed, with ages ranging from fourteen to thirty. Miltia marvelled that it remained up there without being scrubbed out by authorities. After a moment, Miltia considered that she probably wouldn't want to be the painter assigned to whitewash it out.

"What's that about?" asked the girl next to her in surprise.

"One of the local Faunus militant groups marking territory," explained Miltia grimly. She took a look around to make sure they weren't being listened to. Seeing the coast was more or less clear, she continued. "They're apparently in a turf war with the White Fang. Poor fools. I wouldn't want White Fang operators stalking me around these streets!" she declared, not quite suppressing a shiver.

"Just don't let them see you first," suggested Ruby with a cheeky grin. "Worked for me."

When they had made it to within a five minute walk of Velvet's family cafe, the two students were passing through the derelict outer crust of an industrial zone. On either side of them were run-down warehouses with broken glass and unreliable exterior lights. The map function on Miltia's scroll had directed them through the area to take a shortcut. As she took in the the abyssal nighttime shadows that clung to the misshapen buildings like spider-webs, she decided next time she needed to find a different shortcut to go see Velvet.

"What a charming place this is," she muttered while trying to convince herself that she didn't feel like she was being watched.

"It's pretty beat-up looking," agreed Ruby. The girl shrugged nonchalantly and in her easy gait and freely swinging arms Miltia could see none of the stress that she herself was afflicted with.

Before Miltia could reply, however, one of the few remaining glass windows in the warehouse to their right shattered in a spray of glittering shrapnel as gunfire suddenly rang out. The two girls were both veteran combatants and their response was instant. Mid-calibre rounds sounded like angry hornets as they zipped by overhead, providing all of the encouragement Miltia needed to get her hands in her claw-gloves and her body safely behind the rear fender of a nearby abandoned car.

'_Wait, where the hell is Ruby?_' she abruptly thought to herself, looking around in surprise. She popped her head up over the fender and realised her young compatriot had very different instincts.

Ruby had advanced to the sound of the guns like the combat school alumni that she was, counter-attacking the possible ambush. With her scythe deployed and ready, Ruby was already across the road, braced against the concrete between two broken windows. Soon she was leaning out of cover to look within the warehouse office. It was easy to spot the moment that Ruby realised Miltia had not come with her, as she turned around with a look of disbelief and pointed to the ground next to her.

"What are you doing!?" yelled Miltia.

"What are _you_ doing?" called back Ruby. "It's probably just some people Grinding, what are you worried about? Getting shot?"

"Of course," agreed Miltia, eyebrows nearly flying off her forehead in surprise.

"Do you have an Aura or not?" asked Ruby in exasperation. "Get over here!"

Miltia shook her head in disbelief. _'She's gone mad_,' she thought to herself, but she still ran across the road anyway. Short rips of gunfire could be heard as she crossed the road, but these further volleys were not directed their way. The realisation was comforting. "We should be getting on our way, Ruby," she pointed out with a dark expression as she reached the warehouse wall. "Not making trouble for ourselves."

"Pfft, don't be a stick in the mud. Velvet can wait five minutes," answered Ruby. "Come on, someone might need help, let's go check."

"I thought you said it was people Grinding?" said Miltia as she watched her classmate vault the window sill.

"Probably. I said it _probably_ was," corrected Ruby, unseen in the darkness of the office.

"Well, what if it is?"

"Then we flatten them all," laughed the little hellion. "Come on, it'll be fun and they'll appreciate the practice when the bruises fade."

Miltia couldn't help it; she smiled and then vaulted the window sill as well, though she expected to lose a good whack of Aura to a random spray of bullets at any moment. Despite her fears, the firefight had ceased after the first few volleys. Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through holes punched into the door by the earlier gunfire, she looked for Ruby. The girl was slowly sliding the door open. After making a tiny gap, she slipped her scroll out. Miltia realised she was taking a picture so she didn't have to stick her head out.

"God, at least you have some self-preservation," whispered Miltia.

"My mistake," announced Ruby in a pleased, lyrical tone as Miltia knelt down alongside her. "Dance, not Grind."

"You fucking combat students," hissed Miltia by way of reply. "I'm not exactly eager to get to Velvet's, but randomly finding fights messes with my old survival instincts. And I don't know what you mean by Dance."

"You can't be a Huntress and not enjoy a good fight, so embrace it," said Ruby tetchily. "Anyway, Weiss knows these two, so I better bail them out."

"What two?" asked Miltia, even as Ruby opened the door and walked out into the main warehouse floor. "You're kidding me," she blurted. But what else was she to do? She shook her head and hastened to follow.

Standing anxiously in the centre of the warehouse was what could only be a society boy and a society girl. '_Who else goes out to fight in gingham and a vest?_' considered Miltia. Arrayed against them were roughly a dozen Faunus grunts of the Jaws of Menagerie militant group, with one very cocky looking Cat-Faunus hanging back. Although the two rich kids carried themselves better with their precisely poised stances and beautifully crafted weapons, six-to-one odds were tricky to overcome. This peril, however, was not conveyed by the broad grins on the faces of the outnumbered humans, who were relishing the challenge before them.

"Those two," began Ruby, pointing with her off-hand as the other rested Crescent Rose over her shoulder, "India and Venus, I met them with Weiss at a society thingie. I don't really like them, but I think Weiss would appreciate me saving them. Dunno who these other guys are."

"I don't think they're White Fang," said Miltiades. "No masks. Maybe they're those Jaws guys?"

"One way to find out," said Ruby before raising her voice. "Hey! You two need a hand?"

The sensation of fifteen armed combatants immediately freezing, taking a step back from battle, and turning to face her set Miltia's hair on end. A beat passed as the grunts all glanced to their flummoxed-looking leader for guidance, while the society boy's jaw hung open in surprise. Miltia glanced between them, wondering who would react to the arrival of the two heavily armed students first.

"I'm sure we can spare a few targets for you," answered the boy Ruby had named India, drawing a snort from the girl alongside him.

The cat Faunus who led the militant mob snarled and pointed angrily at the newcomers with his spear. "Keep out of this! The Jaws of Menagerie do not forgive those who cross them!"

To Miltia's surprise, Ruby replied to neither young man. "Hey cool, you were right, they're the Jaws," she said instead to Miltia. "Good call."

For a moment that sent an entirely inappropriate thrill of delight up Miltia's back. She smiled with a touch of arrogance. Ruby returned her smile for a brief moment; a moment that ended when she disappeared into a cloud of rose petals. A heartbeat later, she was before the Jaws leader, scythe menacing on high. The man's spear was a complicated piece of Dust-infused deviltry with wires and tubes hooked up to a leaf-shaped blade. The spearhead crackled with energy while rising to intercept the scythe.

Ruby's exact footwork eluded Miltia's eyes. The angle of attack completely changed mid-swing. She pivoted, firing off a round to reverse the momentum. The tailspike batted aside the spear and struck him under the jaw. The strike continued around until the proper scythe blade hit the man behind his knees as he rose. He went spinning through the air like a top. With a pirouette she dropped her scythe head into its spear form and struck the man with the weapon's reinforced spine. The sound of metal pulverising meat sang cleanly through the tumult.

Once upon a time Miltia had found that sound nauseating. No more.

Faunus warriors swarmed the two society brats. Miltia rushed across the concrete, claws ready. The battle loomed before her. The society boy's brand danced in the heart of the fray, marking where the couple made their stand. Steel blades sparked from contact while gunfire from complex weapons added to the chaos. Both the boy and girl were skilled and their equipment was top-notch. But quantity had a quality all of its own, and it was simply too difficult to track so many foes.

Miltiades entered the fray. With her agility semblance and flexibility, she moved easily among the throng. She was the ephemeral wind through the Foreverfall.

A sword came for her neck. She ducked and kicked out, catching the swordsman's knee. He began to fall, took Miltia's elbow to the face and a claw to the ribs. Up she rose, kicking off the wolf-man's face, pounding him to the floor to wail and thrash in pain.

One of the stronger grunts brandished his axe. Both hands gripped the shaft behind his head, before he swung down with all his might. But he was too slow, Miltia's leap too swift. Jade-hued crystals flittered in her wake. Her Aura-protected knee hit the butt of the axe, knocking it up out of his hands. Miltia plucked it out of mid-air as her spike-heels landed on the man's chest and shoulder. He screamed as he saw the axe descend in his enemy's hands. She smote his brow, pulled a trigger and kicked off. A blunderbuss-like blast hammered him to the ground and her into the air.

A whip of flame from India burst into the air as he strove with a fan-wielding fox-woman. The coruscating arc passed around her as she flew over them. Venus looked up in shock as she pirouetted, foes flying back from her gorgeous shotgun-tonfas. They exchanged the look of a barest instant, but Miltia was sure she saw startled recognition in the other's eyes. Motion up in the air arrested her attention.

A rabbit Faunus had taken to the air to drop on Venus. Her morning-star streamed behind her. She was fast and nimble, but as agile as she was, she would never match Miltiades. She twisted around and planted her legs on the rabbit-girl's stomach and let her have a powerful blast from the axe's second, final barrel. They both flew off in opposite directions.

An achingly young cat-girl hung on the edge of the battle, clutching to her staff with frightened mews. Miltia saw her foe raise that crude staff. As she descended, Miltia hurled the axe at her feet. The staff whipped across, knocking down the weapon. Miltiades rolled in the air and kicked down upon the cat-girl. With the staff now uselessly down by her feet, the youth took the kick to the back of the head. The pavement shattered where she face-planted.

Miltiades twirled about to face the battle and straightened. A pause and a hush settled over the battlefield for a moment as the Faunus and the society kids took in her path of destruction. Within moments a funny sort of cheek-burning pride bubbled up within her. Her claws went out by her sides, welcoming all comers. Beacon had been very good for her combat studies. Then she saw only two were actually unconscious. The others were scrambling to their feet and there were still plenty of people asking for a belting.

As a trainee Huntress, Miltiades quickly realised she was a class above any of the grunts around her. Yet they were still drowning in numbers.

Across the increasingly shattered warehouse, she saw Ruby standing above the limp form of the leader, pristine scythe over her shoulder. The little brat was giving her a thumbs up and Miltia had to roll her eyes.

And then the rabbit-woman leapt at her with impossible speed for round two and the battle resumed. Miltia tumble-rolled forward, under her leap, and kicked up while on her back with both legs. The woman was knocked up into the air, falling only to meet windmilling claws that launched her towards the society kids. Venus didn't miss an opportunity, leaping up off India's back to intercept. She triggered her shotgun-tonfas for speed and gave the rabbit-woman a faceful of steel for the knock-out.

Wickedly clever, she played off of India's fire sword and the shotgun-tonfas of Venus as she moved. Her speed let her disorient foes and push them them into the heavier weapons. The society kids obliged. India cut down a stumbling Dog-Faunus with a well-practiced blow. Venus swept the legs from a man backpedaling from Miltia's claws; she betrayed her innocent appearance, punching down in a brutal, shotgun-blast coup de grace. But right after yet another enemy nearly skewered Venus.

Venus took the hit and rolled away. It cushioned the blow, but separated her from India. The fox-woman with the deadly fan blades stepped in between them. She smiled like a ghoul. Others rushed in to press the attack on the couple, while Miltia found herself with the largest man in the room bearing down on her. A great Bull-Faunus, he had a chest like a beer keg and looked like he had all the social graces of an angle-grinder. In his great meaty hands he carried a long-handled mace of immense weight.

From the corner of her eye she saw Ruby grin foolishly and begin to walk towards the rest of the battle. Crescent Rose gleamed in the warehouse lamps.

As Miltia sized up the mighty man who approached her, she could see the weaknesses. This big bruiser would take some punishment. Physically strong or not, wielding that mace required a bit of extra Aura cooking.

'_Time to seize the initia… what!?_'

Just before she was about to launch at the man, a female Cat-Faunus no taller than four-foot-ten stepped in front of him and pushed him back. The shove from the diminutive woman caused the horned man to almost stumble.

"Wh-!?"

"Go play with that scythe," said the Cat-Faunus. "This vixen hurt my sister; she dies here."

"But the boss said-," protested the man in a soft, concerned voice.

Miltia shook her head. "_Whatever_," she said, cutting the man off. "Don't whine if you take your little sister to a brawl and find out she can't cut it. I'm going to teach you a _lesson_, okay?"

The black-haired Faunus hissed at her, ears twitching atop her head. "I'll make you eat those words, brat," she said. She was small, but looked to be in her late-twenties, with a blue Jaws arm-band. She pulled back the side of her slate coat to reveal the hilt by her side. With a fierce glare, the woman settled into a low, wide stance, hand over her weapon, ready to strike from the scabbard. It seemed to Miltia like a longer, slimmer version of the sword that some of Junior's henchmen used to carry.

Miltiades did not pause, but continued to walk forward. The hand went to the hilt and Miltia sprang forth to counter. Her right leg kicked out and caught the pommel, knocking the sword back into its scabbard. She sprang up and aimed a kick at the Faunus' head with her other leg. The blow was ducked and Miltia stumbled. With an aggressive step, the woman tried to launch her blade again, but Miltia forced the blade's angle down. The floor blocked the full draw of the weapon, letting Miltia throw a heavy elbow into the woman's head before striking with her claws.

"Bastard!" hissed the woman as she recoiled from the elbow, twisting around to get her scabbard up.

The scabbard blocked her claws and the woman finally managed to draw her sword. Miltia gritted her teeth and pressed her attack. The closer she got, the more effective her claws became and the more cumbersome the sword. The cat-woman could take damage, however, far more than her diminutive frame would suggest. Miltia's claws swiped chunks of Aura off in quick successions, knocking her foe to the floor. The Faunus rolled up to her feet, sword in a high ox grip, hands by her head, blade forward.

Just as Miltiades was about to spring forward from her crouch with a nasty grin on her face, a flash of motion caught her attention. The great bulk of the Bull-Faunus crashed between them and skidded for several feet along the ground. Both women blinked in shock at the intrusion, then turned to find Ruby at the source. The scythe was flying left and right, Ruby's hand and footwork moving like a blur, and the enthusiastic but amateur militants were getting mown down.

"What … _Fuck! Fuck!_" screamed the Cat-Faunus, eyes flashing and face strained. She was coiled up, screaming from deep within. While her defiance echoed in the warehouse, she leapt over her comrade's supine form and attacked frantically.

The sword came in like a flash of light. Miltia was caught short by the ferocity behind it, taking the blow straight across the stomach. '_That's just embarrassing,_' thought Miltia as she stumbled away to fall on her backside.

"Got you, rat!" exclaimed her enemy, before her fierce grin collapsed. "Oh, come on, that would have killed an Ursa…"

"You haven't learned your lesson yet," said Miltia as she pushed off the floor.

With a burst of her semblance, Miltia was back on her feet and charging in. The woman was flat-footed in what she thought was her moment of triumph. Instead, she got to watch firsthand as Miltia borrowed a move from a certain blonde borderline psycho. She planted her heels on top of the woman's sneaker and drove an uppercut into her jaw with every erg of power she had in her body.

The sound was sickening. If the woman had any Aura left at all as she tumbled to the concrete, it couldn't have been much. She was out cold, just as her sister had been. '_Oh my god, sisters are such pains in the ass_,' thought to herself before straightening up.

Miltia let out a deep breath and smiled, satisfied with how she had fought. All around her were knocked out Faunus militants, prone, supine or just slumped around in a mishmash of casualties. Most of them were simply out cold from the loss of Aura, but one or two had been broken and lay with wounds. To her surprise, Ruby's blade still gleamed pristine.

Ruby's entry to the battle had turned it from a finely balanced contest into a laughable rout. The two society kids struggled to recover from a state of disbelief as she looked around for any further foes.

"Hey there," greeted Ruby as she returned Crescent Rose to its carry form.

"You are a sight for sore eyes, my dear," said India as he leaned on his sword and smiled wickedly at them. "In more ways than one. You and your friend look beautiful tonight."

'_Oh great, a playboy_,' lamented Miltia silently as she glared his way. Aloud, she asked, "You guys know each other?"

Before anyone could reply, however, Venus replaced her weapons on her belt and walked towards Ruby with a dutiful expression. She was wearing a pink, sleeveless dress with a quite modest neckline for the curvy girl, along with a flared skirt. The underskirts that Miltia had seen during the fight gave it away as a battle dress; gingham over steel. Blood spattered her calves and forearms, telling Miltia at least some of the more serious casualties were her doing.

When Venus reached Ruby, she took hold of the turtleneck collar gently. Ruby did nothing to resist the society girl's advance. Much to Miltia's profound shock, Venus leaned down and kissed the smaller girl with venom and purpose. If her classmate was at all surprised by the unannounced embrace, she did nothing to betray it outwardly. Rather she instead leaned into the kiss and seemed to take control.

"Are you kidding me?" blurted Miltia as she watched this unfurl. "Grimm and Dust, Ruby! Would you knock it off!" She looked back at India. She stopped and blinked, then blurted, "Oh, crap, you're that guy Ruby flattened last week!" A bashful look came over the young man at her words.

"I wouldn't say _flattened..._," he muttered.

Venus broke the kiss and stepped back. Her eyes were wild and she was short of breath. One of her heels wobbled. "Wow, uh, okay … ah …," she muttered. "If I'd known you could do that, I don't think I'd have begged out the first time." She shook her head sharply. "Whatever, there! It's _done_!" she cried in relief. "Please, you have to tell Weiss I've made good on the debt, okay?"

"Eh?" said Ruby, tilting her head at Venus. "Why the big rush?"

"Being known as a someone who weaseled out of a bet has been very hard on the poor girl," explained India, sympathy clear in his voice. "It's a lot of punishment for a moment of weakness."

"Oh, good, so it's not just my sister who gets bullied in your little cliques," said Miltiades, face knitted and dark.

The two rich kids turned to look at her in mild shock. "You're … not Melanie?" guessed Venus.

Miltia shook her head slowly. "Nope. You're thinking of my sister," she replied. "Do you really think Melanie would wear _this_ dress?"

"Melanie never was very savvy at navigating the society scene, so she might have," said India with a shrug. "I suppose it's short of lace, though."

Ruby walked over to stand next to Miltia, looking crossly at India. "I don't appreciate you talking about a classmate of mine like that," she declared.

The two society kids exchanged a glance. "She's training to be a Huntress now!?" they exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, and she killed like a horde of Grimm just the other day," continued Ruby, warming Miltia's heart, "She's a good person, don't be mean to her!" After she spoke, Venus and India exchanged a bewildered look.

"What brings you two out here anyway?" asked Miltia as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Dancing, my dear," said India brightly before looking around at the knocked out Faunus around them. "Although I'll admit we were close to biting off more than we could chew. I must say, it was good to be the beneficiary of your scythe this time! What a masterful weapon it is."

Ruby was beaming at the praise. "Well, don't you all look cozy," grumbled Miltia, too quietly for anyone to hear after all the rifle-fire.

"Yeah, well, it could have been quicker but I didn't want to hurt anyone too bad," waved off Ruby.

"So, India, what are you planning to do?" interrupted Miltia. "There's over a dozen people knocked out here. I'm not just going to sit here if you plan to finish the job."

Venus giggled at that, getting on Miltia's nerves mightily. But it was India who replied. "My dear, that isn't us at all. There's seldom point to killing Jaws grunts, anyway. Always plenty more disenchanted fools willing to carry a sharp stick for a pretty tale. It's not like they're White Fang. Although, given who your girlfriend here hangs out with, I can forgive your suspicions."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Miltia, but India just shrugged.

"If you ever want to know how it really works, give me a call," suggested India with a dazzling smile. "I'd love to talk over dinner."

"Why would I put myself through that? I'd just call up my girlfriend and say, 'Hey, Alice, why are society kids complete _lunatics_', and get an answer that isn't three-parts smarmy, one-part trickery," said Miltia with no small heat, folding her arms over her chest.

"Alice?" echoed Venus, eyes bright and dangerous like a cat who had seen a mouse before the mouse had seen it. It was not the reaction the other girl had been expected. "You're a Beacon student, dating a society girl named Alice? There aren't that many girls named Alice in the society, and only one who..."

"Never mind," she dismissed, trying to back up before she found out the hard way what her mistake had been.

"No no no," objected Venus. "Ooh, I know this riddle. Blonde, curvy, voracious skirt-chaser, society girl Alice? Alice Sgathan, is going out with a clubber?" When Miltia looked away, Venus suppressed a giggle with a hand on her mouth. "Aha, scandal!" she trilled lyrically.

Miltia's looked back up and took a foot forward, hands balled into fists, ready to explode into fury. She knew Melanie, or anyone else in the society scene, would never dream of reacting so blatantly as this. But fuck their way of doing things, this was on. Venus' smile grew to shark-like proportions. As she took the extra step closer, Miltia could see her pupils were dilated and bloodshot. '_Ugh, stupid suicidal idiot, don't think I don't know what you've been up to_,' thought Miltia, angry as she recognised the symptoms.

Nothing was said, however, before Crescent Rose deployed in its characteristic nerve-jangling wave of noise. "Alice Sgathan is a nice person, okay? I like her, Venus, and I won't let you cause trouble for her. I'll defend my friends."

"Whoa!" blurted Venus as she saw the weapon deploy to its hooked scythe form. "Wait, trouble for Alice? What? No!" She shook her head and held up her hands. "God, no. I'm just looking for grist for the gossip mill. Go after Alice Sgathan? She was a part of Weiss' old crew; she is _crazy_. Anyways, she's back with Weiss now. We all hope she's not trying to get the rest of the band back together."

"Hang on, Ruby, you know Alice as well?" asked India slowly. "Look, I don't know if anyone has ever taken you girls aside and warned you about Alice and Weiss, but … you should both be careful about just what you're getting into."

"I trust Alice far more than I trust your opinion," said Miltia with her hands on her hips.

"Well, it's your life. I suppose you know what it's worth," dismissed India with a shrug.

'_Guess I'm off the dinner menu_,' thought Miltia as she rolled her eyes at the barb. "Whatever. We've got a friend to meet. Later."

"Sure thing, honey," cooed Venus. "We've got an after-party to go to as well. Don't worry. I'll give your regards to Alice." Her smile went just a touch sinister. "And, of course, yours too, Ruby. She'll be glad to hear you two are looking after each other in these dangerous places."

Miltia felt a wave of hatred bubble up, her eyes narrowing. The society vixen had picked her mark with a precision that she would have never expected from someone who came across as so vapid. Standing around and exchanging barbs might be fine for some people; in fact, Miltia knew several who would consider it great fun. But Venus and India could go jump off a cliff as far as she cared. She turned on a heel and walked back the way she came.

* * *

><p>"This seems as terrible a time as any."<p>

Melanie Malachite shifted awkwardly in her seat, Weiss' words scratching at her nerves like she was clawing a blackboard. It was difficult to feel comfortable across from the pretty tyrant. Sure, she knew that Pyrrha would make sure this didn't end like so many old encounters, and she was sure that Alice had good intentions. But you were always at risk around an ice queen like Weiss, and this grand night was the belly of the beast.

"That isn't quite the attitude I was hoping for, Weiss," said Pyrrha, but Weiss just smiled back.

"Behave, Miss Weiss," said Alice from the seat next to Pyrrha.

"I am behaving," said Weiss with sideways glance.

Pyrrha sighed, but folded her hands in her lap, sitting forward. It did Melanie's nerves a world of good to know the mature student was there.

"I want you both to know I'm here with an open mind," began Pyrrha. "All I want is to help the two of you find a common ground, okay?"

"Thanks, Pyrrha," said Melanie.

"Obliged," said Weiss.

"Melanie, you asked for this meeting," said Pyrrha, extending a hand towards her. "When we leave here tonight, what do you want to have accomplished?"

"I … want to not have Weiss as an enemy," answered Melanie as Pyrrha put her in the spotlight. "To feel like the bullying is over. After that last mission … well, you know. After that, it seemed like the right time to bury the grudge." She paused and drummed her fingers on her thighs, considering what she dared to bare here. Just as Pyrrha was opening her mouth, she continued. "I'm not looking for revenge, I'm not looking for a pay-off. I just want to know that the bullying is over and our teams can work together properly."

"I think that's why Ruby wanted me to go along with this," said Weiss, looking at Melanie.

"Okay, Weiss, you've agreed to come here," said Pyrrha. "You must want something out of this as well?"

Weiss didn't answer at first, covering for her delay by sipping from her champagne flute. A surprisingly deep sip come to that, noted Melanie in surprise. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alice holding up a hand in a stop gesture.

"Well, I suppose first of all," said Weiss. "I want to help Ruby, since she said having her partner and her fellow team-leader fighting makes her job harder. And I guess I could … probably do without the extra stress," she allowed, rolling her hand over.

"And … wait, why are you here, Alice?" asked Pyrrha.

"Well, given I am dating _her _sister, and I'm _her_ old friend," said Alice gesturing at either girl in turn. "I would like to see them both stop fighting."

"And?" said Weiss further, rolling her eyes.

"... and if Miss Melanie was more kindly inclined to society girls like me, I may stand to benefit," added Alice, giving Weiss a flat look.

Melanie heaved a sigh. What was it that Miltiades saw in these dysfunctional girls she chased after? Whether it was a case of finding them easy marks, or that she actually found something endearing in their tumult, Melanie couldn't say. "I don't hold that against you, you know," said Melanie. Alice smiled back at her.

Pyrrha finally picked up the glass flute before her and had the barest sip. Melanie had to grin when the Mistral girl's eyes lit up. "Ooh, that … that's really good," said Pyrrha. "Although I suppose I haven't had much experience with anything like it."

"Take it from someone who knows her champagne, the young lady of the house spared no expense," said Weiss as she placed her empty glass upon the table and reached for the bottle that had been left. To Melanie's surprise, she noticed Pyrrha was watching Weiss like a hawk as she took up the bottle.

"If you don't mind me asking," said Pyrrha, tapping a finger against her chin. "Just how well do you know it?"

Melanie had to admit, she did enjoy the moment of pure consternation on Weiss' face.

"W-Well, it's a staple at our events. Us girls on the society scene get acquainted with it," said Weiss. She leaned back into her seat, leaving the half-full champagne flute alone on the table. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm a very trusting person, Weiss, but I'm not blind," said Pyrrha. Melanie was struck by how sympathetic her classmate made herself seem. "You went through that champagne like it was water. I've seen it before with the girls from Mistral."

Melanie's face went blank, wondering if Pyrrha knew what usually went with the alcohol. She had already sworn to herself that in order to have the best chance of patching things up, she wasn't going to be the one to make that revelation. For her own part, Weiss fell silent, folding her hands in her lap.

"Funny, isn't it," mused Weiss, "That such a staple of the circles I've travelled in suddenly feels so embarrassing when I have to talk about it to people from Beacon. This happened with Ruby, too."

"Ruby knows about it all?" asked Melanie in surprise, getting a blank look and a nod from Weiss.

"Honest, Weiss, I'm not judging," said Pyrrha. "I've never seen you drunk at Beacon, so I know you don't have a problem. But you took to that champagne like a duck to water, and I wonder: was that part of what led to the bullying?"

Several seconds passed as Melanie waited for the response. She watched Weiss settle back into her plush chair and close her eyes, and wondered what was going on in that all-too-clever Schnee mind.

"It didn't lead _to_ the bullying," replied Weiss, barely more than a whisper. Weiss took in a deep breath and exhaled. "What it _did_ do, however, was give it a viciousness I'm…"

Melanie couldn't bring herself to say anything, still as a statue. Instead Pyrrha prodded Weiss. "That you're…?"

"Easy," muttered Alice, just enough to be heard. "All Schnees have their pride."

"That I'm not happy about," said Weiss, all but squirming in her seat. "That I wish hadn't happened the way it did. Melanie was a target because she was an unknown, who popped up one day, on the arms of about a dozen different boys, which was suspicious ... although not unacceptable behaviour for us. But she never came over to us to pay her respects, to get vetted as a newcomer. We accept newcomers, but you can't show up, stay aloof, ignore us and basically spit in our eyes. If Melanie had come over and introduced herself at the start, we wouldn't have started trying to chase her out."

Melanie shook her head, fingertips at her temples, with her eyes wide and jaw ajar. "Are you telling me that if I had just gone over and played kiss-ass, I wouldn't have been bullied?" She shook her head again, more vigorously. "You're full of shit, Weiss. I refuse to believe that."

Laughter came across the table, short, sharp and unhappy in its tenor. "No, Melanie, I'm not telling you it would have been perfect, but you would have established your place there. I know you couldn't very well go around letting people know you were actually a bodyguard, as that would have defeated the purpose you were being hired for. But you still could have paid your dues to those there before you. You'd have been at the bottom of the food-chain, of course, but that would still have been far better than being actively hunted."

"You can't blame me for this. I'm the victim here!" said Melanie. She was hitched forward over the table, fists clutching at the hem of her skirt. She could feel a prickly cold washing over her as she forced herself to face Weiss head on. Just talk to them? They hadn't exactly been approachable! Melanie forced her hands to relax and smooth out the hem.

"We speak not of blame, Miss Melanie," said Alice, "But of cause. I wish I had known you and your sister back then. The high society is riddled with in-group, out-group traps like this. It has developed that way over the many generations of society members who came before us."

"Look around," said Weiss. "People are trying not to show it, but our table is the centre of attention. Me and you are the centre of attention. Simply being seen like this gives you legitimacy here. Because this is what you never did; talk to us!"

"You hated me," said Melanie, leaning so far forward she had to prop her hands up on the table.

"I never hated you," said Weiss, before she sighed. "I didn't. Let me lay out exactly what this was from my side. I know that, for you, the bullying was totally personal and hurt deeply. But for me, it was just another day. Just another intruder that I, and my peers, had to run off. There are always a few. Even when you refused to either kowtow or go away, I didn't hate you in particular, although your persistence was, well, infuriating!"

When Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, Weiss held up a hand. "No, just let me say my piece, okay?" She drew in another breath. "Part of why I went to Beacon was to get away from what I was becoming. I was constantly, constantly angry, and it was making me a … a very difficult person."

'_A horrible, awful, sadistic __person, you mean!_' thought Melanie to herself as she fidgeted. Part of her rejected what Weiss was saying, but part of her wanted to break down and openly weep at the thought that there had been ways to avoid what she spent so long suffering. '_No one told me anything, even my clients didn't care enough to tell me_,' she realised. If it had been only from Weiss' lips she would have dismissed it all as lies. But Alice was saying the same thing.

"So, you said you wanted know that the bullying is over," said Weiss, turning to look directly at Melanie. Those blue eyes made Melanie jump at first, before she realised there was nothing malicious in her expression.

"That's right," said Melanie. Her voice was thick and froggy, and she winced at the sound.

"I can offer you this," said Weiss. "Yes, I did have my issues with … with the champagne, but I've got that back in hand now. Pyrrha can tell you that I've been getting friendlier and more open the longer I've been at Beacon. Right?"

"That's very true," said Pyrrha, just a hint of unease in her smile.

"I'm no angel, and I don't put up with stupidity or incompetence," continued Weiss. "But I'm not the angry person I used to be. I'm not caught in this constant rat race with the rest of society. If you were paying attention around here, you'd know the stakes at the top are high, and the fighting is vicious. So ... what I'm trying to say is that you're safe. The cause is gone, the aggravating factors are gone. If you want to start again, the way is clear."

Melanie looked down at her knees and tried to parse everything Weiss had just told her. It wasn't all just a matter of circumstance. Weiss was kidding herself if she believed that. She had a vicious streak beneath the civility. Melanie was a firm believer that alcohol and narcotics didn't change a person. They just let what lay beneath bubble up past the inhibitions and guards. But stress and anger _could_ change a person, and she had never really stopped to consider the sort of situation her tormentor had been in. If it was true, then maybe she could let the past fade away?

"I was also, until very recently, not having to deal with the White Fang and other mongrel scum like that," said Weiss after the silence stretched on.

Pyrrha shifted in her seat. "Weiss, I think I owe you an apology about that."

"Eh? About what?" asked Weiss.

"When Ruby came to me after your fight with the White Fang, I ... prejudged you," said Pyrrha. "I asked Ruby if she was covering for you when I heard the Faunus were killed. My first thought was very unfair, and I'm sorry about that."

Weiss was silent for a long moment, and both Melanie and Alice tensed up. "Don't apologise, Pyrrha. Ruby told you the truth," began Weiss, before biting her lip. "But I have been fighting them a long time. I doubt there's anything you were thinking that I haven't done."

* * *

><p>"And if the scroll isn't lying to me," said Ruby absently as she looked at the colourful screen. "Just about … just about … there!" she declared, pointing as they rounded a corner. "Yes! Success for team Ruby and Miltia! We're here safe and sound. See, you were worried about nothing."<p>

The shop front for Scarlatina's Cafe lay ahead, a friendly-looking establishment that spoke of family and care. Ruby quickly decided that she liked it. The 'Peace begets Peace' sign did seem slightly weird but it certainly made it more inviting. The insides were mostly hidden behind decals stuck to the outer windows, but the light that filtered through beckoned them inside. At the corner she saw a small figure, dimly illuminated by cigarette light.

"Nothing to worry about?" Miltia gave her a long, dark look. "Ruby, didn't we, like, only just get into a massive fight? Like five minutes ago?"

"Massive? Meh," said Ruby, waggling her hand. "It was only so-so."

"Well they can't all be White Fang assassins, now can they?"

Ruby shrugged and walked across the road. Looking around, she could see it wasn't a great part of town, but it was neat and mostly kept, if a little worn from use, unlike the warehouses, certainly. Foot traffic was heavy and every two in three were Faunus. As the girl had expected, her companion got a lot of looks in her dress. It wasn't even out of lust; there were plenty of dresses and outfits that were every bit as risque as hers being worn by the party-going denizens of Peppermint Grove. But it was blatantly more expensive than anything else going around.

Still, no one had waylaid them. One man had looked like he was going to try, but when he caught the strong scent of burnt propellant Dust, he thought better of it. So, in the end, it was a nice long walk with Miltiades, plus a chance to stretch the sinews, find a fight, and swing Crescent Rose around a bit. It was certainly a much less nerve-wracking way for her to spend an evening than casing a nightclub in preparation for an assassination, a task still on the agenda.

"So, am I supposed to be joining you?" she asked, looking back at her friend.

"No, this will be something private," answered Miltia. "I didn't tell her I was bringing you. I don't know if Venus will follow through on telling Alice and Weiss we were both out together, but even so, the fewer people that know the better, given what we have planned. So wait a minute before coming in and then just sit down for a coffee and … sorry, I guess, play on your scroll."

"Well, this night just took a turn for the dull," sighed Ruby. "Is there anything else in the area?"

Miltia shrugged. "Uh, no? Well, not that I know of," she said. "Just chill out inside. I'll text you when we're going."

"Sure," sighed Ruby. Miltia shrugged again, smiled and walked on inside.

Now left alone outside the cafe, Ruby frowned and looked around. Across the road was a cheap-looking apartment building and some various specialty stores, half of which were closed for the night. It wasn't a _bad _neighbourhood, although as Ruby gave it a more thorough look than her first glance, she wasn't sure if the business with vague signage saying mainly 'discreet access from alleyway' and tough looking enforcers outside was _entirely_ legal.

"So this is where Velvet grew up," she said to herself as she took in the sights.

As Ruby looked around, she noticed a petite smoker in the alleyway peering her way. Well, her legs' way, at least. After a moment the figure disappeared into the alley. Ruby hated both tobacco and its smell, but an idea began to form in her head. Just today, combined with the burnt cartridge Dust scent, she realised it could be useful.

When she rounded the corner and got a good look at the shadowy figure, all such thoughts vanished. The smoker had walked a little further down the alley, and had her back to Ruby. '_Oh my god, that is not fair,_' she thought to herself in what sounded like a whimper inside her head. Her mysterious smoker was a girl in a waitress' apron, a bit younger than Ruby, with a trim, petite build.

'_Aside from the fox Faunus thing, you look like ... five, maybe six of my exes?_' thought Ruby, with a silly curl to her lips. '_Except, eww, smoker._'

"You realise I'm not on the menu, right?" asked a young voice with a playful touch.

Ruby startled as the waitress addressed her. "Uh, hey." So much for discretion.

"Hey yourself," said the girl, but she smiled shyly as she said it. When her cigarette burnt low she produced a replacement, lighting the little white stick on the embers of the old one.

Ruby took advantage of the girl's distraction and moved next to her against the wall. "Sorry about that," she began folding her hands behind her, making sure the brickwork didn't scratch up her scythe. "You're very pretty. I guess I lost myself a little," she said, leaning towards her just slightly.

"Pretty? Or did a preppy society minx like you see a fox tail for the first time?" asked the waitress with a snicker and a stream of smoke. "And you're now trying to flirt your way out of trouble?"

"Bad guess. I'm no society girl and I've seen fox tails before," said Ruby. "But _maybe_ you have a point about the flirting. I'm Ruby, by the way. What's your name?"

The waitress waited a long moment, drawing out another puff on the little white stick as much as she could. But as much as she succeeded in keeping her features aloof, she couldn't stop her fox ears twitching or her tail swishing out. "I'm Sara."

"Oh that's such a cool name, I like it," said Ruby with a cheesy grin. "It's sweet."

Sara gave her a bemused look, all arched brows. "You're wasting a lot of effort for a straight girl."

"I would be," began Ruby slowly. "But for a girl who was checking out my legs from the corner?" She laughed and gave a girlish smile. "Maybe not!"

At that reply Sara coughed and spluttered, before finally getting out, "So, you arrived with Miltia. Are you from Beacon as well?" Her tail began to swing back and forth.

"Yeah, we're classmates," explained Ruby.

"Wow, you're a muddle, aren't you?" snorted Sara. "You look like some kind of rich jerk in that sweater; but you're hitting on a Faunus girl, as opposed to … you know, _hitting_ a Faunus girl; you came with Miltia, who was looking like a party girl on the prowl; and you're a Beacon student." She took another drag and looked Ruby over.

Ruby shrugged and grinned playfully. "Maybe. But on the important things, I know exactly what I am."

"You're lucky!" laughed Sara. She paused and exhaled a long stream of smoke. "I feel like I should, like, say sorry. I'm normally so much more upbeat than this."

"What's wrong?" asked Ruby, and frowned when the other girl jerked a thumb at the building behind her.

"Ah, in there," muttered Sara. "I'm not sure what's going on, but everyone is freaking out about something.

Sara's eyes went wide. "You know," she said softly. "Miltia promised me she'd give my number to a nice boy at Beacon. I should have known not to trust the lesbian to play match-maker like that."

"She didn't tell me that," laughed Ruby. "But you should give it to me instead."

"What, and you'll hook me up?"

Ruby laughed again and shook her head. "Nope."

Sara gave her a speculative look and dropped her cigarette to the alleyway pavement, grinding it out under riotously coloured bootlets. "Does this straight-up approach usually work for you?"

"Most of the time," confirmed Ruby with broad, innocent smile.

Sara got out her scroll and opened the device, and soon had passed the number with no sound bar a little 'blip' of confirmation, and then began to walk back towards the store front. "Are you coming in?"

"Yeah," said Ruby. "But don't mention me to Miltia or Velvet, would you? Velvet isn't supposed to know I'm here."

Sara looked back over her shoulder at Ruby and frowned. "If you're classmates, she'll probably pick up on your scent, you know."

"I've just spent five minutes getting covered in cigarette smoke," said Ruby as she overtook Sara. "I'll be fine." She was pretty sure the words the stunned waitress mouthed after that were, 'I've been used!'

Inside, it was warm and inviting. The room was bustling with life and conversation, a bonhomie that made the world outside drift away. Off in the corner, a couple tables had been jammed together, where Miltia was seated next to Velvet. But they were not alone. Joining them at the table were two men: a rabbit Faunus and a sheep Faunus. There were also two women, both rabbit Faunus. One of them bore a strong resemblance to Velvet. The other was pink haired, of medium height and build, and was armed with a VBCS. The moment Ruby saw her, her eyes went wide as moons. She turned and slipped Crescent Rose from its harness to hide below the level of the tables.

It was, Ruby noted, the only corner of the room from which no noises came. She risked a glance back over that way. Upon the middle of the table was the answer; a sound-canceler such as the one Weiss carried.

"Sara, you lazy fucking heifer," complained a boy in a waiter's apron who was close to Ruby's age. "Just because Saffron is busy with her meeting doesn't mean you can take double breaks. I'm getting run off my feet. And wow, you reek, are you mad?"

"Don't swear in front of the customers, idiot," snapped Sara before turning to Ruby. "Table for one?"

"Yes, please," replied Ruby with a coquettish smile.

As she was led to her table, out of the corner of her eye she saw Miltia, who didn't look her way for so much as a moment. Her face caught Ruby by surprise though. Pinched, stressed and anxious, she wasn't enjoying whatever was being discussed. Then again, Ruby didn't find that surprising, given who was at that table.

"Can I get you anything?" asked Sara.

"Do you do spiced hot chocolates?" asked Ruby, looking up at her as she took her seat.

"Of course!" said Sara brightly. "Well, I mean, we don't, but I can totally figure it out."

"Great! That, with four sugars, and a cookie if you have one," said Ruby.

"F-Four…? Okay, sure," replied Sara. "I'll get that for you."

"Sara," interrupted Ruby, cocking her head at the waitress. "Could I ask you a _little_ favour?"

"Apart from the off-menu hot chocolate?" asked Sara drolly. "Sure."

"Who are Miltia and Velvet with?"

"That's all you wanted?" replied Sara with a healthy swish of her tail. "Sure, there's Saffron, Velv's ma, and Mark, her dad. The ram guy is some family friend named Trevor. He's pretty good to me, always gives me a pat on the head and doesn't check me out. Unlike you."

"The pink-haired woman?" continued Ruby. "Does she come around here often?"

"Nah, never seen her before," said Sara. "I tried to find out, but Saffron shooed me away, the jerk."

"Okay, thanks."

The young girl went away and Ruby settled into her seat uneasily. In an ideal world, she could sit like the pink-haired woman had, watching the entrance, the kitchen and the stairway. But she didn't dare sit facing the woman and her chain-scythe. With a sudden burst of stress, she started to wonder if she had remembered to reload Crescent Rose after the earlier battle. The weapon was propped up between her knees, safely hidden from view of Miltia's table. But she couldn't get access to the magazine without expanding the weapon into rifle form at least. No chance of that when she's trying to look innocent in unfriendly territory.

Ruby laid her scroll upon the table and browsed the news of the day. Flowing over her screen were various tournament results, industry gossip about the comings and goings of Hunters, plus the rave reviews the SDC was receiving for their latest forays into battle mechs. A couple missives from old friends at Signal had arrived and she read those too. But she didn't delve too deeply, keeping one eye on her surroundings. A message popped up on her scroll with a beep and the girl's eyes went wide.

[Prof. Glynda Goodwitch] : '_As a courtesy to your class, given your encounter with the great elder Grimm, I am advising you all that this evening a team of Hunters has completed the task of eliminating this Grimm and are all returning safely to Beacon. I trust this shall conclude the matter satisfactorily for all. Again I remind the whole class this matter is confidential._'

As Ruby reread the text, a second message arrived.

[Glynda Goodwitch] : '_Miss Rose, I am pleased to advise that, as the wound you opened in the neck of the Beowolf became relevant in the successful execution thereof, and thanks to a persuasive argument by one of the Huntsmen attached to the party, you have been declared a contributing member of the kill. See me on Monday after classes to discuss further wrt Bounty._'

"Grimm and Dust, I'm going to be rich," whispered Ruby. "Along with the hundred thousand from the rest of the mission, I won't be a leech on Weiss," she concluded giddily.

Visions floated in her head of all the things that would now be possible. Crescent Rose would be shinier than ever, she would finally integrate weapon and scroll, maybe toy with new ammunition types, get a semi-automatic action. She wasn't going to have to lie to herself about the state of her wardrobe anymore. If it was as much as she dared to dream, maybe she could even get something to ride around on. Not a big beast like Bumblebee, oh no. Yang was crazy to ride on that thing. But maybe a scooter.

Another message arrived and Ruby immediately winced.

[("Dad") - Taiyang Xiaolong] : '_Hey there, little Rose! I just got off the scroll with that foxy teacher of yours, Miss Goodwitch. Wow, you're taking after your old man, straight into the teeth of danger and daring! Great work saving your class. By the way, _if you ever do that again you are grounded for the rest of your natural life!_ Hope you're enjoying class and learning to be a Huntress. Please pass on my hugs to Yang._'

She dropped her head into her arms, resting on the table. "_Dad_," she groaned lowly. "Ugh!"

"What's up with you?" came Miltia's voice from behind her.

"Dad just found out I tangled with that big Grimm and I don't think he's totally okay with it," replied Ruby. "Are you finished with your meeting?" she asked further as she glanced past Miltia and spotted Sara coming with a mug and a small plate.

"No," replied Miltia. "I think you need to sit in on this, Ruby." She was about to reply further when Sara walked up alongside her and whacked her across the back of the legs with her tail. Miltiades yelped and jumped, twisting around to face the sudden assault. "You!"

"That's my line, you minx," said Sara with a snort as she placed Ruby's drink and cookies on the table. "But good news, you don't have to give my number out anymore."

"Yes, I know, the deal, I'm going… Wait, you're calling it off?" began Miltia before she paused. Ruby sat as quietly as she could as the other two girls exchanged glances with each other and then down at her. "_Seriously?_" scoffed Miltia, looking at Ruby.

Sara walked off, all snickers and twitching fox ears, leaving the two students alone. Ruby had to put her hand over her mouth to stifle the conspiratorial giggles. In truth, she had no idea what she'd do with the number; it had been a spur of the moment thing. Peppermint Grove was way too far away from Beacon to be worth pursuing. But seeing it exasperate Miltia had already made it worth the effort of getting her number.

"So what's going on?" asked Ruby in a whisper, as she failed to suppress her grin.

"It's about Blake," said Miltia, suddenly all business. "There's some things you need to know."

"Right," muttered Ruby, eyes narrowed and unfriendly. "I need you to do something for me." Miltia gave her a quizzical look. "Carry my food, I need my hands free."

"Do I look like your serving girl?" scoffed Miltia. "Get your new prospect to carry it."

"Listen to me," snapped Ruby before dropping to a secretive whisper. "I know who that shrew in the pink hair is, and I mean to kill her if she draws. I need my hands."

"I don't think Saffron will like you beating up her guests," said Miltia, glancing around with a nervous expression.

"Then she'll be really cheesed off when I kill one of them," said Ruby in a faux-reasonable tone. "But Crescent Rose is my complaints department, so I think I'll be fine." Miltia blinked and gulped, but took the drinks and cookies. "Thanks," said Ruby as she stood, picking up her scythe's carry-case.

As she approached, she looked over the four adults at the table, who all looked at her quizzically. Velvet had gone bone white the moment Ruby stood up. '_Surprise_,' thought Ruby to herself with a sense of satisfaction. Ruby had gotten about halfway when the pink-haired woman abruptly stiffened and put a hand on her hilt. Ruby held up a finger in her direction, shaking it. The other hand was on her scythe's activation stud. The woman took her hand away from the hilt slowly, and Ruby sat down in Miltia's old seat.

"Hi guys," she said, beaming as she settled in, shifting Crescent Rose to one side.

Only silence greeted her from the table.

Miltia placed the drink and cookies on the table and then dragged a free chair over. Ruby now found herself seated between Velvet and Miltia, with Saffron and Mark to Velvet's left, and Trevor and the pink-haired woman to Miltia's right.

"Miltia, sweetie, who is this young lady?" asked Saffron with a forced pleasant expression.

"Ruby, what are you doing here," asked Velvet in a voice like strained violin strings. "How did I not smell you in the room…?"

"I don't care if she's a city councilor," snapped Trevor, "You're butting in on a private conversation."

"Well, it's a funny story, Velvet," answered Ruby, ignoring the man.

"And it's one we don't care about," said Trevor. "Go away." He glanced at the other two schoolgirls. "What are you two looking so tense for?"

"Mom, Dad, Trevor, Amaranth," began Velvet, gesturing towards the new arrival. "Meet my friend Ruby Rose. Blake's … team leader," she finished in a very quiet voice.

"So….we're talking about Blake," said Ruby, fixing her Faunus colleague with a withering look.

"Yes," muttered Velvet. "Miltia, what were you thinking?!"

Ruby fingered the activation stud of Crescent Rose for comfort as she looked across at the pink-haired woman. '_What do you possibly want with Blake? You don't know Velvet or Miltia._' She placed her other hand on the foregrip of the carry case, which eventually formed part of the main weapon haft. '_You won't catch me napping_,' she thought to herself fiercely.

"Your name is Amaranth?" asked Ruby. The woman nodded as she gave back a bloodcurdling look. '_Ooh, those are eyes that have seen some action_,' thought Ruby. "Nice to be able to put a name to the face."

"That's right," replied the woman as everyone else at the table glanced between them. "I trust you'll keep this a friendly conversation."

"I love being friendly, so I'll be as friendly as you let me be," replied Ruby, turning a bright smile on the table.

"Okay, seriously, what are you doing here?" demanded Velvet, a call echoed by her parents. "Miltia, I'm not likely to forgive you for this, by the way."

"Forgive me? You'd be on your knees thanking me if you knew everything," said Miltia with rolling eyes. "Come on, Velvet, tell her."

Ruby placed a hand on top of Velvet's and smiled again. "It's alright, if there's something going on involving Blake, you should tell me. She's my friend. I can help." She glanced around the table and saw only hesitant faces. '_Come on, guys, work with me. I'm gonna strain my poor cheek muscles at this rate_.'

Velvet rested her elbows on the desk, seeming to steel herself as she raked her hands over her rabbit ears. "Alright, fine," she said at last. "This may come as a shock to you. Did you know that Blake is a cat Faunus?"

Ruby snorted and laughed, giving Velvet a friendly elbow. "Yeah, and I'm an immortal cannibal with a taste for Faunus." Everyone else at the table exchanged a look. "Okay, sorry, bad joke..."

Miltia sighed, getting Ruby's attention. "They're not joking."

"Ehh!?"

"She could hide it from you humans, but you can't hide the scent when you sweat," whispered Velvet. Her knuckles were white as they lay balled on the table. "I confronted her about it. She said she was hiding it because she had made enemies fighting for Faunus rights."

"That doesn't make sense, if she was Faunus wouldn't I have seen cute little kitty ears on her _oh god, the bow_." Ruby went cross-eyed. "The tuna… I thought she just liked ribbons! She was hiding _ears_ under it?"

"Before you ask, I only found out a week ago," said Miltia, holding up her hands.

"Why didn't you tell me then?" asked Ruby.

"Would you prefer I was the sort of person to spill secrets everywhere?" replied Miltia. It took Ruby a lot of effort not to visibly wince.

"If you reckon that, then why did you bring her here now, you little idiot?" snapped Trevor, getting a furious scowl from Miltia. Ruby also glared at the man, who was leaning back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. From the corner of her eye she saw Amaranth twitch.

"Mister Trevor," began Ruby with a radiant smile. "I like Miltiades; if you insult her again, I'll _make_ you say sorry."

Trevor snorted. "Of course you will, kiddo. Got an army tucked away somewhere?"

"Be nice, Trevor," admonished Saffron. "She's a nice girl sticking up for her friends."

Ruby looked at everyone in turn while tapping at the table. "Ok, lemme see if I've got this right. My friend Blake is secretly Faunus. You're all immensely concerned about this, enough to drag Miltia all the way across the city, not taking no for an answer. And for some reason you're here meeting a White Fang assassin to talk it over?"

Ruby's eyes were sharp as she took in the consternation her words unleashed across the table. Velvet and Saffron both looked at Amaranth; Miltia at Trevor. Trevor and Mark, for their part, caught Ruby by surprise. '_Now why did you both look at Saffron before you looked at Amaranth?_' pondered Ruby. But she had other things on her plate. "You'll curdle milk with a look like that," noted Ruby as she smiled back at the pink-haired trigger agent.

"What are you talking about?" asked Amaranth, cocking her head.

"I recognise you," said Ruby, leaning forward at the table. "You were part of the team that tried to kill me and Weiss last week."

Amaranth snorted derisively. "Oh god, you're one of those 'all Faunus look alike' people, aren't you?"

"What even?" blurted Ruby. "That's so wrong! Me and my sister have always argued for Faunus rights."

"Wait," said Trevor, holding up a hand. "The Faunus rights community was abuzz about an incident last week where the White Fang got their nose bloodied by a couple society girls. Are you saying you and Amaranth were in that?"

"I had nothing to do with that!" protested Amaranth, jabbing a finger at Trevor.

Ruby was agog at the continued protest. '_Wh-what is she doing!? She can't seriously be pretending it wasn't her that Weiss ran through? She was there! I know it was her, but how can I prove it?_'

"The story I heard," slowly began Saffron, turning a look on Ruby that she had trouble reading, "Was that a White Fang trigger team with some footsoldiers ran into Weiss Schnee with a friend. Weiss butchered four of them."

Silence settled over the table. "Two, I killed two, not four," said Ruby quietly. "They said they were going to kill my friend, so I didn't hold back."

"Got any more 'you and what army' quips, Trevor?" asked Miltia under her voice.

"Don't joke, dear," said Saffron, her eyes sharp and dangerous. "So you're the friend, then. Are you a society girl?"

"No! Stop this, Grimm and Dust," said Ruby. "I'm not a society girl, I'm not a Faunus-hater, I'm not a party girl. I'm just a student, I'm just a normal girl, with normal knees, who is good with a scythe."

Saffron shook her head. "Why on earth were you out with someone like that Schnee, then!? She's absolutely horrid!"

Velvet shifted uncomfortably and put a hand on Ruby's wrist. Ruby glanced down at it and reluctantly bit her tongue. "Mom," began Velvet. "There's something I haven't told you about my new class; Weiss Schnee is one of my classmates."

'_Holy crap, dad could learn a few things about scary looks from this one_,' thought Ruby when Saffron turned her gaze on her daughter.

"She's also Ruby's partner," added Miltia with a sideways glance that Ruby caught.

"And friend," said Ruby, carefully keeping her outward cheer. "I'll stick up for her as well."

Saffron crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me, Velvet, Miltia, what is she like in person, then?"

"Smart, very smart," said Velvet. "I don't know what your idea of a society girl is but between Weiss, and Miltia's girlfriend, they are whip-smart and they're happy to show it."

"From what I've seen," contributed Miltia, "She doesn't warm to people easily, but once you are her friend, she'll go to the wall for you. My sister hates her, just hates her. I'm hoping they can patch something up though."

As she watched Saffron consider those responses, Ruby bit her lip, hoping she wasn't going to be pushed on this. But then Saffron turned and fixed her with her most dire maternal look.

'_Th-that's scarier than the inside of that Beowolf's maw!_'

"Do you realise that the Faunus community hates her?" challenged Saffron. "And for good reason. The stories out of Atlas were terrible and the times she's been in Vale were no better. Her whole family are a bunch of bad apples, and she's no exception."

Ruby pinched herself, the minute shock helping her focus. With a bit of self-control restored, she squared up to Saffron, returning her look. "Well, that may be true, but don't pretend the Faunus are blameless. She suffered her first assassination attempt when she was just a child, before she knew she _could_ fight. Is it any wonder she has little pity in her? So whose monster is she? The Schnees' or yours?"

Silence dark and oppressive settled on the group. Ruby's grip on her weapon was white-knuckled. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes constantly switching between the angry adults. She felt fingers touch her hip and had to slow her breathing.

"Don't touch me there," whispered Ruby to Miltia. The hand shifted to her back and the young team leader exhaled.

Velvet stirred. "Stop this," she demanded. "We're here to talk about Blake, not Weiss."

"Why are we talking about Blake?" asked Ruby. "Okay, she's Faunus. I'm surprised, but it's not a problem. Even for Weiss, I know it won't be a problem. Why do you all care?"

"Because," said Mark, "My daughter is in your class and I'm entitled to be concerned about her sharing a class with a White Fang terrorist."

Ruby blinked, her face slack and dull. Seconds past and she couldn't form words. When she turned to Miltiades, the girl just smiled back sadly.

"I suspected straight away with how she was hiding," said Velvet, looking bashful when Ruby turned her way next. "So I investigated. We took a look at her weapon and her style and they both have White Fang links. But with that in hand, we found the last piece." She waited, but Ruby stayed silent. "Amaranth here is an expert and she confirmed it. Blake's a White Fang trigger agent. A very good one, in fact."

Ruby turned to Amaranth, and the rabbit Faunus reared back fearfully at whatever she saw in the girl's eyes. No one dared break the tableau that settled around the table as Ruby indulged her least frequent emotion: hatred. "Why," she began, a thunderous whisper to breach the silence. "Why, Amaranth, would I believe a White Fang agent backstabbing another White Fang agent?"

"I told you, you've mixed me up," replied Amaranth. "Trevor knows I'm not this person."

Ruby closed her eyes briefly. A finger slipped onto the activation stud. Gears and motors whirred. Crescent Rose screamed towards Amaranth even as it bloomed. Across the table the chain scythe rose laterally. A hand was on the hilt, ready to draw, the other bracing the scabbard. It was all Ruby needed to see. She crooked her right arm around the haft, pushed the left hand further away. Momentum let the weapon slide forward instead of around, tail-spike towards the table. She stepped back, raising her weapon in parlay.

Ruby watched the table begin to react with a professional pride. Her classmates were fast, weapons in hand and backing away. But the two men fell over themselves getting away from the table tripping over their chairs. Saffron was behind her daughter, having stood and moved gracefully, as if she felt none of her forty years. Her fists were clutching at air. But across from the table, Amaranth stood, weapon back at her side.

"You _liar_," hurled Ruby. "You are a _liar_!"

"I'm not sure what you think that proves other than your own instability," shouted Trevor.

Crescent Rose slipped back into its carry form and Ruby sat back down, ignoring Mark. Saffron went to reassure her other patrons, while everyone else settled again.

"You're no civilian," said Velvet as she glared at Amaranth.

"What do you mean, honey?" asked Mark, glancing back and forth.

"Too fast," said Miltia in clipped tone. Her hands were still in her claws, breathing rapidly. Ruby looked her way and instantly felt embarrassed that she had so startled her friend.

Amaranth snorted. "I'm not White Fang." It was delivered flatly and authoritatively.

"Oh, this is such crap," muttered Ruby, but even she had an uncertain note in her voice.

"Then what are you?" demanded Velvet.

There was a long pause at the table, where Ruby swore she could see the lies spooling up behind Amaranth's eyes. "Jaws of Menagerie," she admitted at last. "An operative of the Jaws."

Ruby threw her hands skyward, a disgusted noise in her throat. Anywhere else than her friend's house and she and Amaranth would be settling this with blood and steel. Lies, all lies. Amaranth was thinking on the run. She was absolutely positive this was the woman who had helped attack Weiss. There was no way she was mixing up her Faunus.

"God's Horns, I really have let a terrorist into my house," breathed Mark. He turned to face Trevor.

Amaranth silently turned and made her exit from the building, apparently recognising the danger in the air. Patrons gave her a wide berth as she reached the door.

"I had no idea, I had no idea," protested Trevor. "Really, fuck, Mark, honest, I had no fucking clue."

"Don't swear in front of Velvet," said Mark instantly.

"For _fuck's_ sake, dad!" snapped Velvet, making her father blink. "How are you possibly worried about that? Focus!"

They all looked up as the woman of the house returned to the table. She took her seat again, looking at Ruby balefully. "Well, I see you scared her off. This is a peaceful house, Ruby. Unless it is against a Grimm, I will not tolerate violence here."

"Mom, Amaranth just admitted to being a Jaws agent."

"Is that so?" said Saffron, even as Ruby seethed. "Well, that saves me calling her back. Oh, God's Horns, stop apologising, Trevor. I know you wouldn't have brought her if you knew. Now, I don't like what I'm finding you mixed up in, Velvet, maybe Beacon was a mis-"

"_Don't_ finish that!" hissed Velvet.

"You had to deal with an entire team of anti-Faunus bigots," replied Saffron. "Your new class group has a White Fang trigger agent and one Weiss Schnee. I don't want you anywhere near either girl!"

Velvet slapped her hands down onto the table. "They're no threat to me! Honest, I know how you feel about the Schnees, but Weiss has never so much as said a cross word to me. I started looking into this because I was scared Blake was there as a sleeper to make a hit on either Weiss or the school itself. It would be a calamity for human-Faunus relations."

Ruby cleared her throat. "Look, Blake is my friend and teammate. She and Weiss get along. I know there's a misunderstanding here," she said while trying to stay calm. "Why would a White Fang agent betray another White Fang agent?"

"But she's not White Fang, she's Jaws," said Saffron. "And, Trevor, I'll thank you to never bring such a person into my home again."

"She's full of shit," snorted Miltia, and Ruby sighed with relief.

"I'll talk to Blake," said Ruby. "We'll sort this out."

"You'll actually hear the girl out?" asked Saffron. "She's just a Faunus girl, after all. By your own admission, you've killed a few."

"Cat ears or Schnees, they're my friends," said Ruby, leaning forward over the table, her silver eyes fiery. "They mean the world to me! I'll fight to protect them, from each other if they decide to be stupid about it."

Saffron turned away. "I know you wanted to keep this in-house, Trevor," she said. "But I don't think that's going to work now."

Ruby could feel Trevor's eyes boring into her. '_You can't bully me down, Trevor,_' she thought to herself, jaw still set.

"So if we're right and she's White Fang, what are you going to do?" asked the ram Faunus, arms folded across his chest.

"It doesn't matter," exclaimed Ruby. "She's still my friend, even if some of her other friends are jerks. I won't let her and Weiss fight."

"That's naive!" snapped Mark.

Velvet rubbed at her face and sighed. "No, that's Ruby," she said. "Let her do it. If nothing else, once she confronts Blake, I'd say there's no way she'd continue her mission, which is the point for me."

"I suppose I can take some comfort that my daughter shares a class with as strong a student as you. Thankfully, you seem to have a protective streak to match," said Saffron, though she frowned at Ruby when she said it. "But….you're a killer, aren't you?"

"I was protecting my best friend, and those were unlucky one-hit kills," answered Ruby, tamping down on her impulse to blow up. "Don't make it sound like I went around like a butcher." She kept her gaze on Velvet's mother, but she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. '_Oh, come on, Miltia. Don't turn away guiltily. You aren't helping._'

"Yes, I suppose that's what the rumours said," allowed Saffron. "Your silly little stunt told me a few things. Any old fool can swing a heavy scythe, even if few can manage that precision. But your reversal was the hallmark of a master. You may look like a innocent girl, but you are not what you appear."

"I'll say," interjected Miltia in a desert-dry voice. "It took me most of the other night to get Sara's number. Ruby managed it in the 5 minutes I left her outside."

Awkward silence fell upon the table. '_Oh my god, Miltia, I don't know whether to thump you or thank you,_' thought Ruby as she held up hands placatingly to Velvet, who whirled on her.

Saffron exhaled tensely. "Do you have any straight girls in your class, honey?" she asked.

"Yes," said Velvet through blushes, before fumblingly reeling off the names of the other girls in the class. "And in Ruby's team, there's Weiss and Blake," she finished. "Although I think Yang goes either way?"

"Actually," began Ruby, "Blake and Yang are now going ... out ... She knew. Argh, Yang knew!" She stood up from the table, expression set defiantly. "I'm handling this, it's my team's matter. I'm sorry, I know you all want the Faunus community to handle it, but my team is my family, and I'm going to save it from blowing up."

She strode straight at the entrance, Miltia scrambling to follow in her wake and Velvet left to do her best to mollify the adults.

'_Just as soon as I get this Junior out of the way..._'

* * *

><p>"Weiss..." Pyrrha bowed her head, sighing. "Why would you… Okay, well, I wasn't there but … that's really disappointing to hear, Weiss. " A flush struck the other girl's face. If she were honest, Melanie appreciated seeing Weiss on the end of a guilt trip. She surely had it coming.<p>

"What was that fight like, anyway?" asked Melanie.

"Terrifying," said Weiss, with a bluntness and honesty that surprised Melanie. "I didn't expect Ruby to put her life on the line like that, with actual assassins, but she saved me. I helped her with the attack, of course. She asked me to put down a gravity glyph to give her extra momentum, so I knew the instant the attack was coming, but..."

"But?" said Alice when Weiss didn't continue.

"It was like being at ground zero of a bomb. I've never seen the like," she said. "Ever. The alleyway itself cratered, she split the agent right in front of me lengthwise. I've seen and ... done things fighting the Fang, but I have never seen a trigger agent split like cordwood. I trust Ruby completely. If I didn't, she would scare the wits out of me."

"I really ought to challenge her to a bout next sparring class," said Pyrrha wistfully. "But for now ... okay, Melanie, you've heard what Weiss had to say. What are your thoughts?"

"I don't _like_ you, Weiss," blurted out Melanie. "M-Maybe I never will. Getting blindsided by you and a few friends outside last year's WeaponsCon, the constant 'here comes nobody' type remarks... Having my _dress set on fire_ at that one gala. Oh my _god_, the constant rumour mongering. I actually had someone randomly come up to me on the street and ask if it was true that I had sold a kidney to pay for my dress. Like, what was that about?"

"Okay, that last one wasn't mine," said Weiss. She squirmed in her seat. "Rumours weren't my thing. I was more direct than that. And like I said, I'm not happy it went so far."

"Is that all you can explain away? Physically, mentally, socially, you went after me," said Melanie, holding onto her knees protectively. "And you know what? I know it was stupidly pig-headed to keep exposing myself to that. But I wasn't going to let a bunch of stuck-up, spoiled brats win. And I actually really liked talking to the society boys. Miltiades had to put me back together a couple times, which I'm grateful to her for. It put a strain on her, as well as our friendship. But it kept me from any stupid ways of trying to cope."

Weiss twitched at the mention of Miltiades. "I do envy you that much," she admitted, looking away from the table.

"Envy what?" asked Melanie. "The support?"

"Yes," said Weiss. "My family isn't big on it. I grew up being shot at, you realise? Most families would have thought they should get the girl who just had an assassination attempt some help, talk it over. My father basically said, 'welcome to the club, keep your eyes peeled.'"

Melanie blinked in surprise as she parsed that comment. Who would be so foolish as to mistake a stiff upper lip as a replacement for counselling? "Have you really been targeted so much?"

"Melanie, I don't want to pull the 'my life is miserable so I should get a free pass for making your life miserable' act," said Weiss, shaking her head. She leaned in, hands folded in her lap. "I told Ruby I thought you had good reason to hate me. Call it stubborn pride if you like, but I don't want to weasel my way out of it."

"I'm not going to forget that," said Melanie, giving the other girl a sharp look. "But if this is about working together in the future, I need you to fill in some blanks for me. Don't think you can weasel out of it by playing this sort of perverse martyrdom."

Weiss' eyes narrowed dangerously. "You _really_ want to know what I've been going through?" she asked.

"Didn't I like _just_ ask that?"

"Fine," said Weiss. Melanie spotted a tremor take the girl for just a moment. "I've had Faunus trying to kill me since before I hit puberty. I've spent my whole life growing up in the shadow of the White Fang killing off relatives and company members. I have expectations from my family you wouldn't believe. And that's fine. I can live up to those expectations, but it is a lot of stress and work."

She held her hands out in front of her. "I've been in constant battles with the Faunus, striking back. Outside of that, I had strict, rigorous tutoring, combat training, and the society. I had no friends outside of this place. You had somewhere to retreat to when things got hot here." The fire in Weiss' eyes guttered and she heaved a deep sigh. "Is it any wonder I picked up a problem?"

"You mean with the special?" asked Melanie in a moment of forgetfulness.

"Yeah," said Weiss. "Grimm are scary and all, but there's no moral quandary and I can trust all my friends at Beacon, rather than having to figure out who is friend or frenemy here. I mean, is it any wonder I've been opening up and getting friendlier at Beacon? Cocaine was sometimes all that was keeping my head above water in here but it could also make me hellishly angry."

"S-Sorry, _what_?" intruded Pyrrha's voice, about an octave higher than normal.

Melanie and Weiss froze as they belatedly recalled they weren't alone in the conversation. Her jaw worked soundlessly for a few seconds until Melanie honestly expected her to get up and run. Pale and mortified, Weiss' distress was clear.

At that moment, a new voice was heard. "Oh my _god_, you're all here! What are the odds?" it said.

Weiss closed her eyes for a moment. Then she turned around with an outburst of fake cheer, smiling brightly. "Weasel! Ah, I mean Venus, slip of the tongue, do forgive. You actually showed... Oh, dear, a battle dress? Did no one tell you this was a formal event?"

'_Well, here we go_,' sighed Melanie.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope everyone enjoyed. Next chapter we'll be finding out what everyone else has been getting up to, and getting some of the overarching plot progressing. Also a lot more action to be had! **

**As mentioned before, reviews are always appreciated.**


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